Only Good Karma

Eclipse Effect

Karma is not some debt you pay. Karma is a system within the Law of Resistance. Would you believe that the karmic condition is one of the best things you have going for you? That’s right. For every degree of positive energy you put out, you will bring back an equal and positive effect. The opposite is also true. Therefore, since you can’t run from the conditions set in motion, you’d better learn to love them.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Karmic Identifiers – August, 2011)

There is no such thing as ‘bad’ karma. There is only cause and effect, an infinite cycle of co-creation.

I’ve been thinking about cause and effect this week on many levels.  At the global level, I muse about the conflicts and divisiveness present in our culture.  I catch myself casting aspersions and blame.  Then I remember that my thoughts matter. They become a part of mass consciousness, and my negativity does nothing to raise that consciousness.  On the contrary, negativity keeps me stuck in beliefs about right/wrong, good/bad as if those are real.  And, it contributes to keeping mass consciousness stuck in that which perpetuates conditions of discord.

Up close and personal, I found myself labelling several issues around the house and Luke’s annual August allergies as ‘problems’ that I needed to ‘solve’, burdens to handle so I could get on with ‘life’.  I noticed that I was snappy with myself and my beloved pet. I caught myself barreling toward victim mode, just short of casting a strong dose of self-blame and sentencing myself to hours (or days) of self-inflicted misery.  

And, then I remembered I could choose differently.  

Choosing differently doesn’t mean putting on a fake smiley face and pretending that ‘all is right with the world’. It isn’t.  For me it means maintaining consistent awareness of my thoughts about current events and mindful of how I respond, both internally and externally. I notice the huge learning opportunity that presents.  When, where and how do I express my care and my values in ways that make a positive contribution?  Without clear answers, I can only listen within, follow my inner-guidance, notice what shows up, and do my best to maintain peace within along the way.

The ‘stuff’ that presents itself in daily life and business maintenance likewise presents what Joan Borysenko calls the choice “to practice stress or to practice peace”.  

Each choice is a karmic one. Moment to moment, day to day we are choosing, consciously or not, how to be in life. We are choosing whether to engage positively or negatively with life conditions. With each choice we are putting out energy that will bring back an effect. At the surface, our choices are simple. But, like so many simple things, implementation is not always easy.   Choosing to practice peace and to put out positive energy requires attention, awareness, intention and the courage to buck the world’s call to join its pity party.

This week I invite you to join me in consciously and courageously choosing peace and positivity.

Days End - A Beautiful Sunset in the San Luis Valley

Deepening Your Conviction

Twists, turns and shadows are a part of nature. We humans didn't invent them.

Understanding that the Universe is forever moving in perfect form, we can suffer the mean and the ugly by reinforcing our own conviction that right and love WILL prevail.  Gregge Tiffen (newsletter re retrograde planets)

Despite so much evidence which seems to contradict Gregge Tiffen’s statement, do you believe that the Universe is unfolding in ‘perfect form’ and that (though perhaps not in your lifetime and maybe not even on our planet) that ‘right and love WILL prevail’?  I do.

More and more I’m appreciating that what I believe about the Universe – the infinitude of which we here on earth are but a tiny part – matters. Although we’re just a dot in the vastness that is the Universe, we are important as are all the other dots. Deeping my conviction about the nature of the Universe has become an important anchor for me in these times. I’ve stopped trying to make sense of current events, remembering that we humans are constantly co-creating learning opportunities for ourselves and that all that I observe on this mundane plane is just that, a vast array of learning in this school called Earth.

That doesn’t mean I accept or condone any individual or collective acts of violence, hatred and the like.  I don’t. It doesn’t mean that I look the other way (as tempting as that may be) or ignore the choices made by elected, so-called ‘leaders’.  And, it doesn’t mean that I don’t stand in admiration and gratitude for those whose role it is to stand strong and vocal for their beliefs.

I’m taking these events as opportunities to explore how to be informed and make informed choices without getting pulled into the world’s dramas.  As I understand more and more about energy, I understand the importance of being mindful of my thoughts, my words, my actions.  I think more and speak and act less. I’m aiming to avoid reactions, especially internal ones, which only serve to fan the flames of these dramas.

Celestial events such as the coming solar eclipse along with several planets being in retrograde offer each of us opportunities to stop (or at least slow down), reflect, inquire and find clarity about our convictions.  Irregardless of the world and what we are witnessing at ground level, it’s helpful to remember that human consciousness is evolving as a part of a Universe that extends far beyond that ground level humanity.  As we individually tap into that, we are nurturing a collective consciousness of greater understanding and helping call forth the true nature of the Universe so that ‘right and love’ DO prevail.

This week take a breath, disconnect from the world’s hype for a bit, and connect with what you believe. Attend to the best in your nature and seek to nurture the best in human nature. Breathe it in. Call forth ‘right and love’. Breathe them in.

The forest floor is alive with new growth. 

52 x 4

The Joy of Breakfast!

“Speak what you think today in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson’s quote and “Welcome” were the first words of The Zone written four years ago, August 15, 2013. Hence, today marks the 208th issue. A bit of celebration and reflection are in order.

That I’ve honored my commitment to write and share each week is personally satisfying and rewarding. That you read and respond is humbling. I’m grateful for both.

In that first post, I promised to “share what I think today; offer a quote for your muse to both muse and use; and propose an experiment designed to support your journey.”  I’m batting 1000 on the first promise, quite a bit less on the weekly experiment. 

I promised to be eclectic and to share from a variety of sources, systems and doctrines. Then, somewhere along the way, I felt drawn to mostly share the work and words of Gregge Tiffen. Instead of writing, then searching for a quote to fit, I found myself reflecting on what I was observing and/or experiencing at the time. Once I found a quote that deepened my reflection or understanding, I began to use that as a starting point for the week’s message.  You can read more about Gregge and my work with him here - http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/who-in-the-world-is-gregge-tiffen?rq=Gregge%20Ti

In that first post, I declared The Zone would be “a place to explore what success means; how its meaning fits with dreams and values; what shifts may be called for; approaches for creating your personal Success Zone; and an assortment of resources for the journey.” And, that the focus was intended to be “individually and collectively reclaiming personal power, a right and responsibility that we aren’t very well prepared for in our culture … look at where we’ve abdicated power and how to gain it back through the lens of ancient mysticism, brought forward to practical application in today’s world.”  It’s in these areas that Gregge’s work shines and continues to offer guidance on my own personal journey.

These four years and ‘52 x 4’ posts have deepened my understanding of life, of nature, and of my piece of the universal puzzle. While I continue to experiment and search for the ‘hows’, I’m clear that my focus and intention in the world is as it was when I began “… supporting a shift from the ‘more is better’/’win-loose’ paradigm to the paradigm of care, compassion, cooperation, collaboration, community with abundance for all.”

Next week begins year five.  While, I can’t say what the next four years or even four weeks of posts will look like, these weekly explorations will continue with these intentions intact.

As I said at the beginning, “I want to challenge your thinking (and mine!), to poke around the edges of what’s possible, explore how nature and ancient wisdom define and guide us to success. As Emerson suggests this eclectic approach may sometimes be contradictory. Yet, that represents the diversity and flow of life.  Things change. We change.  We can reconsider and adapt. Or resist and be left behind. Always there is choice.”

Thank you for the privilege of sharing my journey with you.  Seriously, it is a privilege to land in your in-box each week. 

Experiment for the Week: Notice your energy flow. What energizes you? What drains your energy? What new choice(s) are you invited to make?

Another Beautiful Day Dawns in the Sangres

Nothing Is Hidden

Curious Deer: Gentleness and Innocence - Gentle Luring to New Adventure (Ted Andrews, Animal-Speak)

Symbols serve as a true roadmap to assist us in getting through life with the minimum amount of difficulty and upset. … our life is ordered, not directed, but ordered by symbols. … Your power comes from what is represented on the unseen level not from the symbol itself.  …by design, the Universe keeps nothing hidden. Gregge Tiffen (Do The Angels Take A Vacation? – August, 2007)

In every choice we make, there are symbols. And, we are symbols of the choices we make.

We’re surrounded by symbols. Some support and guide us as we navigate the physical realm of our planet. Some distract us, screaming for attention when our best interest is served by looking the other way. Some resonate with us, while others bring forth resistance. Many symbols invite us to a deeper place – an examination of our beliefs or a look for the deeper meaning of some event or experience in life.

Awareness is a necessary ingredient for accepting an invitation to explore the deeper meaning of a particular symbol. I need to discern whether or not a symbol is useful so that I can be at choice about what symbols I allow in my life. Otherwise, I can be overwhelmed and, thus miss the learning opportunity of deeper exploration. In every choice we make, there are symbols. And, we are a symbol of the choices we make. Nothing is hidden unless we decline to look.

At first glance, the idea that nothing is hidden seems to fly in the face of all that we claim we don’t and can’t know. We make that claim falsely. We can know. We can learn. We can peek behind the curtain that separates the seen from the unseen. To do so requires curiosity, commitment, as well as willingness to direct our energy to the exploration. We must also be willing to discard thoughts and beliefs that no longer serve us and to try on new ones, accepting those that fit. 

I’m in the midst of several events that have evoked curiosity about what they might symbolize for me. As I began writing, the lyrics of the 70’s hit, Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLm3HMG8IhM) came to mind. The lyrics seem apropos in the current political climate around the world, reminding us to be at choice about the symbols we adopt and follow. That is where our true power sits – waiting for us to claim her.  Could it be that examining our beliefs and learning to stand in our power is the opportunity of the divisiveness we witness throughout the world?

On a more personal level, I’ve been experiencing discomfort in my shoulder and arm for a while, especially when reaching for something. Addressing it at the physical level with acupuncture, arnica and rest has helped, but this week curiosity kicked in and I began to wonder: what’s underneath the ongoing discomfort? Louise Hay (You Can Heal Your Life) suggests that arms and shoulders represent how we hold and carry out life. That knowledge led me to inquire: Where am I reaching? Where am I holding life with something other than joy?

Nature consistently offers opportunities for exploration of deeper, unseen meaning. During summer bears are active here in the mountains, feeding themselves and teaching their cubs about life. Bears are usually rarely seen, but this year is different (it seems we can say that about many things these days). There have been many bear sightings and reports of them entering homes in search of food, creating quite a buzz in the community and on Facebook. Opinions of what we should ‘do’ about the ‘problem’ abound. Absent from the conversation is an awareness that nature is ever responding to we humans. How is angst and chaos in mass consciousness impacting nature, in particular wildlife? What might the bears be trying to awaken in us?

Musings and explorations like these bring joy and meaning to the events in my life.  The details of my discoveries offer expanded possibilities and choices for what (if any) actions I take. That I engage in the process is the true gift. What are you experiencing in life that may symbolize something deeper than what you see on the surface? I invite you to dive in and see what may be there to discover.

Bear: Awakening the Power of the Unconscious (Ted Andrews, Animal-Speak)

Will

The Sangres from the valley floor

There can be no exercise of will when there is fear. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Awareness – July, 2009)

When fear is used to control us, love is how we rebel. Rivera Sun (The Dandelion Insurrection – love and revolution)

As the month that we in the U.S. celebrate ‘independence’ comes to a close and as I observe the chaos of our current public discourse, I’ve been thinking about the source of freedom and about what stands in the way of creating new systems that are true to that source.

Freedom, justice, equality – key principles and qualities upon which the United States was founded – cannot be sustained where fear is present. And, today we live in a culture of fear – overt and covert. I see fear in the reactionary systems aimed at controlling ‘the other’. And, I see these systems breaking down. These breakdowns can feed fear as well where we have not made peace with the idea of not knowing. The tighter we grasp to save them, the faster systems move to their breaking points. Many are fearful of what lies beyond. We see this throughout our culture, not only in the U.S. but around the globe.

When fear is present we lose our ability to think clearly and to recognize the reality of the conditions that are present. We defer to the will of others. Yet, one by one, step by step (with some stumbles along the way) we are waking to realize that free will is not granted (and, thus cannot be taken away) by government (or any person or system). Free will and the will to use it are gifts from the Universe. These gifts are our opportunity to discover the unique ‘I’ that each of us is as an individual cell of the infinite Universal whole.

And, from our individual journeys of discovery, collectively we hold the opportunity, the potential to advance freedom, justice, equality for all.  Free will is a gift that grows when exercised and nurtured with love. Not gushy, ‘roses are red’ romantic love (though that is one form of expression) but love without conditions; love that is curious, thoughtful, and pure.

We make countless choices daily, each an opportunity to choose whether to exercise our will or to submit to the will of some other. Fear is what stands in the way of consistently exercising our will.

When I reflect on the chaotic conditions throughout the world, I see a world that has lost the moral compass of free will and uses fear in an effort to control. That approach doesn’t seem to be working so well. History teaches us that revolution based on fear may change conditions on the surface, but that any change will be temporary.

Lasting change in our systems will come – indeed IS coming – from those with the courage and grit to move beyond their fear and to act from a deep knowing that the source of free will is not any government or system or person. They recognize that free will is entrusted equally in each and every one by an infinite Universe.

Up close and personal, perhaps it’s time for each of us to take a look at our own exercise of will. In that spirit, I’m asking myself these questions:

Where is my will lacking?

What fear(s) have me (knowingly or not) defer to the will of others?

What is possible when I surrender my fear, remembering my source is not the world but the infinite Universe of which this world is just a tiny part?

A Chorus of Morning Clouds

You Are The Universe

Bear in the 'Hood, just off the back deck

You have to accept the same fundamental characteristics of the Universe as yours. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Creative Power Released – July, 2011)

This morning finds me feeling deeply into a sense of being a part of this vast, infinite Universe. The words ‘You are the Universe. The Universe is you.’ are in my head and felt in my heart, despite living a world that seems hell-bent on denying my true nature. Sometimes that world leaves me spinning as I try to make sense of it and its small, controlling, finite ways.

But then Bear, a teacher who brings forth the unconscious, visits.  Not in a dream, but in the flesh (or the fur) outside, just beyond the deck.  The world doesn't make sense in mystical terms. It can't. It won't. 

Bear helps me remember the vastness that extends infinitely, of free will regardless of circumstance, and of the qualities of this amazing Universe that we are. To define infinity is to make it finite. I am infinite. So are you.

Unlike our world which labels things ‘good’ or ‘bad’ as part of its effort to separate and control, the Universe simply IS. I am. So are you.

The Universe doesn’t compare. It doesn’t worry over whether what it does or experiences today is more/less, better/worse that yesterday, last year, or eons ago. It doesn’t compare you to me or a pine to an oak. It simply flows as ever present energy. I am that energetic flow. So are you.

The Universe IS qualities that are present as potential in each and every one of us: abundance, beauty, harmony, joy, peace, power, love, light (intelligence), and life.

I am abundance. So are you.

I am beauty. So are you.

I am harmony. So are you.

I am joy. So are you.

I am peace. So are you.

I am power. So are you.

I am love. So are you.

I am intelligence. So are you.

I am life. So are you.

Imagine a world where we have learned to step beyond our potential and more fully into who we truly are.  Imagine your world when you dare to journey on that path. From a speck of awareness that You are the Universe and the Universe is You, what’s possible? What step will I take today to live more fully into that potential?

Front and Center

Oh what a beautiful morning!

Whatever you have in front of you is what you have in front of you. That’s it! Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Creative Power Released – July, 2011)

The simplicity of this statement struck me as I woke from a nap and reached for one of Gregge’s booklets in search of my focus for this week’s post.  Life truly is as simple as living in the now, focused on what is in front of us – front and center.

From ancient spiritual traditions to best-selling self-help books today, this teaching is found throughout. Yet simple does not mean easy. And, hey, it seems we humans have been working on this for a very long time.

We make life complex by layering past experiences or concerns about the future (and sometimes both at the same time) onto whatever is in front of us. Over time I’ve noticed that quite often whatever I’m fretting about in my head has nothing to do with what’s in front of me at that moment.

In its infinite wisdom, the Universe does not engage in the past or the future. It doesn’t worry over what it did yesterday or even billions of years ago. Done is done. And, the Universe doesn’t fret about tomorrow or the next election. What will be, will be.

 This doesn’t mean that we don’t reflect on and learn from our past. That’s a natural and necessary ingredient for our growth and development. Likewise, it doesn’t mean that we don’t care about and put attention on the direction of our future. We give each their time. We learn. We make adjustments. At their time, each is front and center. Then we move to what’s next. With discipline and practice, we do so without the past or future successfully claiming bit parts in our present.

Pure and simple, no matter how great or how small (but, who cares about size?), the opportunity before you IS. That’s it. With full attention on THAT, take a step, then another. Leave the past in its place. Let the future unfold as it is sure to do.

P.S. In the three short hours since I penned this post, I’ve been humbled (yet again) by how easily my thoughts wander and by the vast range of that wandering. On our morning walk I caught myself revisiting an old conflict rather than fully taking in the beauty of the mountains and the sky as the sun made its way to the top of the ridge. I chuckled as I put my attention on that and bid the past adieu. A short while later as I watered the garden I noticed myself being annoyed by what needed to be done there later rather than putting attention on the water falling on the bounty.  What’s in front of me is simple. Putting my full attention there requires commitment, awareness, and vigilance. Step by step may I rise to what is front and center NOW.

When I'm present, I notice the subtle beauty of first light filtering through the woods.

Claiming Independence and Individuality

Individuality & Independence at Crestone's July 4th parade.

Dependency is a basic violation of Universal law. The Universe operates on independence. The Universe operates on individuality. It operates on separation in every shape and form. … The minute you become dependent upon anyone in any way you no longer have any power to move forward in your own pattern, in your own blueprint, and on your own behalf. You come to a halt. Gregge Tiffen (Finding Freedom: The Meaning of Independence, July, 2007)

Reflect on this for a few moments and you may come to discover a key to why we so often feel stuck and experience the frustration that accompanies that ‘stuck-ness’.

Another Independence Day has come and gone here in the USA, the 241th since a small band of visionary revolutionaries, some of whom had deep mystical understanding, declared independence and set a course for a new nation.  We’ve celebrated our freedom once again. But I’ve come to wonder if we/I really know what freedom is. Do we/I know the importance of exercising our independence? Do we/I even know how?

As I observe the political landscape, I see and hear demands for freedom. Fear that someone who is ‘different from me’ will take our freedom away is rampant.  It seems we have lost our understanding that the source of freedom and independence is not man or government. Rather, free will is our gift from the Universe. Independence is Universal law.  Dependence is a violation of that law.

And yet we have created and continue to support dependence in our systems of government, education, business. We give life to these systems when we depend on them as our source. We’ve become dependent on bosses, clients, government agencies and circumstances for our happiness and well-being.  And, in doing so, we give away our freedom, our power to choose.

When I’m deeply honest with myself, I can see dependence imbedded in personal relationships and friendships as well.  We expect others to ‘be there’ for us and we may even be dependent on them needing us as well.

It’s no wonder that the level of frustration, angst, and fear has reached revolutionary proportions. We aren’t being true to our nature. We desperately want to find our way back. So we revolt. Many lash out at the ‘powers that be’ as if they are the source. Others wisely recognize that change starts within and that responsibility is key to the exercise of freedom.

A first step in taking responsibility is the recognition that the tyranny of dependence is in part self-imposed. From that awareness we are in a position to declare our own, personal independence. I’ve discovered that ‘unlearning dependence’ requires the willingness and self-honesty to look inside to what motivates my action. When I help out a neighbor am I simply using the opportunity as expression of my best self or do I have a hidden (mostly to me) agenda to fill an unmet need?

We restore our independence by our willingness to look honestly step by step and choice by choice. We learn from experience and commitment that our independence is mostly an inside job. That job is made more challenging in a culture that fosters dependence as a means to control.  Yet, in the final analysis we and we alone are the authors of our own freedom.

NOTE – this post was originally written and posted on 7-7-2016.  It still seems apropos today as I reflect on the sad state of governance not just in the United States but in many corners of the world.  http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/breaking-the-chains-of-dependence

The Spiritual Cost of Disposability

Cool Hand Luke on our Solstice Trek to the Ziggurat

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi

We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. Immanuel Kant

Because it is inherent within nature to stay in balance with the harmonious frequency of the Universe, when we do something that sets things off balance, nature must respond by trying to put things back in balance. Our disharmonious administration of the planet causes us all – humans and the rest of the earth – to lose that balance. And nature ever operates to put things right. Gregge Tiffen (Life In The World Hereafter: The Journey Continues)

Earlier this week two viral posts crossed my path and made my heart ache.  The first was a short clip from a surveillance camera showing a puppy being abandoned by his family. The second was an article saying that pet abandonment is highest with the approach of holidays and vacation time. An accompanying photo showed a long line of people and their pets outside of a shelter where the people were about to “surrender” their pets. (Note: I’ve not verified the veracity of either, but a quick check of statistics on the number of pets arriving in shelters nationwide it heart wrenching in and of itself.)

In the midst of my anger and sadness, I wondered how it is that we came to this. How is it that so often our convenience beats our care? Up close and personal, what habits do I practice and beliefs do I hold that contribute to this darker side of our culture?

It dawned on me as I took out the trash this morning that we’ve created a culture of disposability. Despite my best efforts to reduce, recycle and reuse, I generate waste (hopefully far below the national average, but waste none-the-less).  That waste needs to be disposed of for practical reasons. But as we generate more waste and accept disposability of ‘stuff’ more, is it a leap to think that disposing of life could become more acceptable? Is it possible that our all too frequent disregard for life can be traced back to the boom in creating things that are ‘convenient’, thus disposable?  If so, how did we make that leap? And, more importantly, how can we restore our understanding that all of life is sacred? How can I conspire with nature to improve life on the planet rather than working against her (and, therefore, against myself)?

I don’t know. But this week I’m going to sit with these questions. I have a hunch that I won’t like everything I discover. I have a hunch that there will be some new possibilities, new choices, along with opportunities to reconcile past and future choices with my understanding of the dominion over the planet we humans were granted.

I invite you to reflect and adjust with me.

The sun is ready to peek over the peaks.

A Locomotive Goes In Only One Direction At A Time

Warm weather brings the snow melt to Cottonwood Creek on our Solstice hike.

Everything in metaphysics is like a train. Choose to be a locomotive, the cars will follow. Gregge Tiffen (Father Time – June, 2007)

Happy Summer!  This week we celebrated the Summer Solstice and experienced the longest daylight of the year. That daylight which has been increasing since the Winter Solstice will now begin its subtle retreat. We can count on nature and her cycles to remind us of consistency.

Several weeks back (just about the time that busy season for the bed & breakfast was about to begin), I decided to take a course designed to help me expand the readership of this weekly post. There were some other benefits that sounded quite useful as well so, despite the timing, I signed up.

About the same time, guests and reservations at the Dragonfly House began to trickle in. And, like the creek’s springtime thaw, the flow increased. I’m grateful. I love sharing my home and meeting amazing people from all over the world. It’s a means of creative expression that I would never have imagined. I’ve even come to enjoy the ‘darn dailies’, tasks that were once chores, but now are simply part of that expression.

I also love my walks with Luke and my quiet time in nature, with a book, or taking a nap. I love sharing this weekly muse. I no longer want to juggle a dozen glass balls in the air, making sure that one doesn’t drop.

I also love courses and learning conversations. That’s why I was surprised to find myself struggling and resisting in this course. I pushed through the barrier that the issue was one of not enough time, and slogged ahead. After a bit more suffering, it finally dawned on me that the issue wasn’t about time.

I discovered that my resistance was two-fold. First, I can only go in one direction at a time if I want to be, to give, and to express my best (I do!).

A locomotive goes in only one direction at a time. And, it stays on track!

Second, learning that tells me ‘there’s a right way and to be successful you must follow that way’ simply doesn’t resonate with my understanding of how the Universe works.

Authenticity, being true to who I understand me to be, resonates. Doing market research to tell me what and how to write doesn’t. Not to compare myself with great writers and artists, but can you imagine (fill in your own favorite artists of any type or era) doing market research then penning or painting their innermost thoughts? Who comes to mind? Rumi? Georgia O’Keefe? Beethoven?

At a whole new level, I understand why most every marketing related course or activity I’ve engaged in over several decades didn’t resonate or produce the intended results. These courses weren’t bad (in fact many are excellent). But, they aren’t my path. Okay. I think I’ve received and recorded the message this time. I’m the locomotive, on my track … Onward!

An early morning Solstice hike to the Ziggurat.