Bucking the Culture Ain't Easy

Of whims and harmony ... that is our way.

In silence, man and shadow met face to face, and stopped. Aloud and clearly, breaking that old silence, Ged spoke the shadow’s name and in the same moment the shadow spoke without lips or tongue, saying the same word: ‘Ged.’ And, the two voices were one voice. … Light and darkness met, and joined, and were one.  Ursula K. LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea

The truth of the matter is self-honesty in all things. Gregge Tiffen, Open Secrets: The Nature of Feminine Truth (March, 2011) 

Practicing oneness requires the self-honesty acknowledge the darkness within.

Slowly the light is returning. Soon the day will be equal in its light and darkness, and the darkness will give way to more hours of light. A cycle: one of many cycles within cycles that is the natural order of the Universe.

We humans though think we know better than the order of the Universe. We create tools of separation and control: calendars, clocks, daylight savings time and build a culture that honors such tools over the wisdom of the Universe.

This week, though I sprang my clocks forward, I chose to ignore them as much as possible. As is generally my habit, I’ve risen upon waking and allowed each day to flow from there. Even with few timed commitments, I found myself noticing the time and correcting thoughts about being ‘late’ as I went about my day. The exercise reminded me how deeply imbedded ‘time’ is in our culture.

Our culture also holds ideas about how we ‘should’ use our time. Since closing the B&B, I’ve felt a strong pull, guidance if you will, to ‘read, write, connect more deeply in nature, and empty’. I’ve followed that guidance less than I’d like to admit. After all there are taxes to prepare, firewood to stack, and – oh, yeah, shouldn’t I be doing something to generate income?

But these little things (yep, in the grand scheme they are but tiny blips despite how I allow them to interfere with my peace) pale in comparison to bucking the violence that pervades our culture. Violence is monetized (and, not just by the ‘war’ machine, but also in medicine, pesticides, and more). It is deeply imbedded in our language and our history.  Sadly, our cells know much about violence.

I’d like to believe that I’m not a part of this violence. But alas, there is a mirror that, in Oneness, reflects right back to me. In that mirror I see the justifications that I claim for my own acts of violence: if I don’t kill the mice, they will …; my blood type is ‘O’ so my body needs meat; my curiosity takes me to violent movies like Black Panther and Star Wars; mosquitos carry disease (and are sooo annoying!). These are only a few of the mindful choices I make. Sometimes I squish a spider before I’ve given it a thought.  And, so it is in our culture.

Creating a new culture requires facing up to my contributions to the culture we have. Practicing oneness requires the self-honesty acknowledge the darkness within.

As I look to the courageous students who walked out of schools yesterday calling for an end to gun violence, I’m filled with encouragement for the world they envision and the world that is theirs to create. I’m proud to march with them whether in spirit or body.  And, yet I wonder if I have the will to buck my own violent habits as a contribution to ending violence on our planet? For if I don’t, how can I expect others to do the same?

This is the challenge of our oneness with all things and with one another. I am all the beauty and the light in this world.  I am also the darkness. I am That, I am.

A Hazy Mountain Morning

The Power of Directing Attention

Oh what a beautiful morning!

To expect the Power of our Potent Force to be handed to us by some physical person, situation or experience is to deny acceptance of our own Universal Power. By failing to see where the Source of our potential lies, we end up suffering the impotency of empty experiences that exist without energy and without the power to make pathways for development. Gregge Tiffen (Deserve Success and You Will Command It – March, 2008)

When we put our loving attention on the person not the problem, we harmonize humanity.

This week as I held my intention to ‘harmonize with the good in the world’, I experiencedmoments when any ‘good’ seemed to have slipped away.

I lost sight of my intention, let go of curiosity, or allowed an external force undue influence. My attention went to problems – my own and the world’s – noticing those things that I judge as ‘bad’ or ‘lacking’. As you might guess, I found more than enough to drag me down. 

And, I declined to allow them to keep me there.

As soon as the slightest hint suggested I was putting my power in the hands of someone or something outside of me, I stopped. The clues that suggest my attention is misplaced include: feeling angst, angry, impatient, or lethargic; ignoring my daily self-care habits; worrying about things about which I have no control. I’m sure that it will be a lifelong learning opportunity to refine, notice and pause when I’m in this place. It IS the pause that refreshes!   

In the pause, I take a breath (or two or three or even a walk), doing my best not to pass judgement (‘you know better than …’). I put each distraction aside. I’d like to say that I do so gracefully and with gratitude for the learning and the energy redirected. What’s more accurate is that I snuffed them out, putting my attention, my focus where it can best serve. Only in hindsight did I truly feel gratitude for the experience.

The pause is my opportunity to redirect. I asked: what is in front of me that deserves my attention right now?

Then, I had the ability to attend to those things – several mundane tasks that come with the season (love checking each off of my ‘to do’ list!), reading and research to support my goal of writing, a nice long visit with a dear friend who is moving from the community, and – of course, long walks in nature with my ‘Harmonizer in Chief’ Cool Hand Luke.

More and more I’m deepening my understanding that personal and spiritual development isn’t somewhere ‘out there’ to be completed by attending a workshop, reading a book or listening to a guru – though each of these can make a positive contribution. Rather, our development depends on where we put our attention moment to moment, day to day.

When we do so with the slightest acceptance of our true Power, our growth can be exponential, inspiring quantum leaps in our capacity to navigate life on the planet and plant the seeds of wisdom that we will carry with us into eternity.  And, we do our part to harmonize humanity.

Harmonizing with Mom while awaiting a treat.

Learning: Questions & Curiosity

The Woods Out Back -- Grateful for SNOW!

Here is where your people have lost the path. You have spent too much time thinking that we humans are at the top of everything. You have spent too much time trying to learn about things and not enough time trying to learn from them. You have thought too much and honored too little. Dan, the Lakota elder speaking in Kent Nerbern’s the Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder’s Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows -- https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/The-Wolf-at-Twilight--An-Indian-Elder-s-Journey-Through-a-Land-of-Ghosts-and-Shadows-9781577315780

Every point in the Universe is a point of experience. There is no void, and no point lacking in any experience. Consciousness moves from very definitive points of learning linked by other experiences that are also learning experiences. … Welcome the next moment with love and excitement. … The only means for growth is to observe, to analyze, to create, to experience. Gregge Tiffen (Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008) -- https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Gregge+tiffen+Fanned+Fire+and+Forced+Love&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AGregge+tiffen+Fanned+Fire+and+Forced+Love

I begin writing this post without clarity about where to begin or, honestly, what I want to share beyond the quotes above.  Perhaps it’s that I don’t have words or even thoughts that seem adequate for expansion.

During this past week I’ve been deeply touched reading the second book in Kent Nerbern’s trilogy of stories that emerged from his association with a Lakota elder. My words feel lacking in their description as Nerbern shares the oral tradition of native peoples, telling their story using the wise elder’s voice.

Not only wisdom, but experience is shared. Not only lightness and humor, but the darkness and anger from a history lived, experienced. It is not the glossy, sanitized ‘Indian’  history I learned in school.  I’ve long believed that our treatment of those who were here when we Anglos arrived was, at best, unjust. But, I simply (and sadly) was not aware of the depth and breadth of the atrocities my ancestors perpetrated on those who had long made this land their home. 

I wonder, now that I begin to learn ‘about’ this side of history, how will what I’ve learned inform me going forward? What can I learn ‘from’ these stories to contribute to my growth?

I find myself with many questions and curiosity; few answers. A portal has opened to a point of learning from which to explore new territory. What experiences are on the path? What wisdom may be hidden in the depths and how might it contribute to my foundation, my capacity to hold a steady, loving course in the midst of the world’s chaos? What is being revealed to become a part of my expression in the world?  I hope you’ll stay tuned and, as always, share your thoughts.

P.S. Perhaps a new pattern for my weekly posts is emerging. Or, maybe it’s simply the nature of this time ending one phase (the bed & breakfast) and opening another that is just beginning to reveal itself. As I drafted this post and looked back to last week’s, I notice they end with questions – questions I’m in at these moments in time. Being in questions is familiar territory for me, sometimes keeping me from jumping in too quickly with what I know. Perhaps the joy of not knowing is a skill that we need to grow.

Before the snow, gentleness and evening light in the woods.

Learning Love

Finally!  Snow on the Peaks

We know, deep down, that it is the greatest power on earth. Are we afraid of such power? In order to use the power of love we need to drop all facades and show ourselves as trusting, uninhibited children of a loving Universe. … Love seeks no power over the mundane. Love wants no ego aggrandizement. Love turns from hatred and bears no arms in anger. Love accepts things as equal and is never short of tolerance. … To accept love, we must change.  Gregge Tiffen (The Numerology of Love – February, 2007)

Not one effort toward love is ever lost in the record of the Universe. It goes on imprinting into the hearts of total strangers, carried like a spark into generations untold. Rivera Sun (The Dandelion Insurrection)  a story of revolutionary lovers and love-in-action transforming the landscape of their world. Find it here: http://www.riverasun.com/online…/the-dandelion-insurrection/  Or here: https://www.amazon.com/The-Dandelion-Insurrect…/…/098481325X

Earlier in the week as I was journaling about something totally different (or so I thought), I found my pen putting these words on the page:  WAR does not work. Never has. Never will. No war on drugs, cancer, poverty, on anything can ever work because victory in a battle is transitory. Only personal transformation can bring peace. Nothing is built by tearing something or someone else apart. This I know.

I wondered how it is that I ‘know’ this and found an answer, at least in part, in Gregge’s words.  My knowing comes from that place deep inside, a Universal knowing of the power of love.  In those moments of quiet by the fire, I’d touched that place.

My journaling made its way back to the initial topic. I moved on into my day. But a seed had been planted, a curiosity about the true nature of love. I felt a deeper awareness that the systems, institutions, and other of man’s creations are grounded in fear and control not love, a sense that was supported by reading I did later in the day.

This isn’t new to me, but feels rather like an opening for something new to emerge. And, it pointed to how far I’ve come, as well as to how much I have yet to learn and experience in this domain. It evoked questions to consider and experiments to be conducted:

• What facades do I hold on to – knowingly or not – that prevent me from using the power of love?
• How can I trust the Universe more deeply and allow that to be reflected in relating to others and to the world?
• How can I expand my understanding and increase my capacity for tolerance?
• What new possibilities for activism and engagement arise as I grow in my capacity to use the power of love?
• What changes do I need to make in order to be, to accept and to express the ever-present Universal love that our world so desperately needs?

In the midst of these reflections (and caring for a lost puppy that we found in the woods – a story perhaps for another day), the amazing Rivera Sun posted the above quote yesterday, reminding me that every word we utter, every action we take lives on forever as energy in this Universe.

So let our words – especially our words of resistance and change – be grounded in the power that is love.

As Gregge Tiffen so often said, ‘the journey continues’. I hope you’ll join me from your unique path and let’s bring more ‘love power’ to the planet.

Cool Hand Luke & long walks in the woods

The Three G's of Power

A Beautiful Afternoon in the Woods

Today I sing my song with gusto, grace and gratitude. Rev. Dr. David Goldberg - Daily Guide for 7 February 2018 in Science of Mind magazine.

Power doesn’t need anything to support it other than the conviction that the Power is there. Gregge Tiffen - Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008

… security is silent and insecurity is loud. Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) – 7 February 2018 interview, MSNBC

I love life! Even the ‘dumps’ and whatever events seem to take me there have gifts to share (though, being human, I don’t always recognize them in that moment).  I especially find joy in discovering several ideas which at first seem totally separate then, upon reflection, converge to create yet another gift. And, I’m quite jazzed when I see both a personal and a global application.

So, this morning finds me pumped, inspired by three words in an affirmation yesterday: gusto, grace, gratitude. Upon reflection, I discovered just how powerful those three words are up close and personal in my own life, as well as how relevant (and much needed!) they are in the world.

The three words resonated deeply when I first read them. ‘Gusto, Grace, and Gratitude’ gained more life during a conversation with a colleague/friend across the pond.  Later, I wanted to make an honest evaluation of how I measure up to each (not against any worldly yardstick, just my own self-satisfaction).

• Gratitude – my strongest of the three G’s. I’ve come to live in deep gratitude and express it frequently. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for this day” is the mantra that begins and ends each day. I’m aware of my gratitude when I step out the door or look out the window at the natural beauty that surrounds me and when I get a gentle nudge from Cool Hand Luke reminding me to take a break. The list could go on (and on, and on …). What I’ve come to understand from practicing gratitude, is that she opens the way to all of the good in my life. She even lights the path that helps me see purpose in the ‘monsters’ that lurk in the corners.
• Grace – gaining strength in my life, in part thanks to gratitude. I’ve come to walk through life with a greater sense of ease and patience with myself and others. I aim to have a strong sense of what is right without being self-righteous and to be thoughtful in how I respond to people and ideas that I find repulsive. Remembering that we are each part of a larger whole, each with her/his unique and individual learning to do on this earthly sojourn helps me maintain (and, hopefully, express) grace.
• Gusto – at first glance, not my strong suit. Yet, as I explored its meaning (keen enjoyment, enthusiasm, appreciation, zest, relish; great vigor or liveliness), I realized that gusto doesn’t need to be loud or flashy. Like power and security, gratitude and grace, gusto is very much an inside job that finds reflection in how I walk through the world. What I wrote to begin this post sounds a lot like ‘gusto’ to me.

So, what about ThreeG Power in the world? Military might, chest thumping, and parading the weaponry of coercive force are not signs of strength or power.  Name calling and negative comments keep us mired in the muck, distracted from the business of life, peace, justice, compassion and creating a world where all are honored and valued.  

I see amazing power from putting the Three G’s into practice in our lives. Imagine what’s possible when we add gobs of gratitude, grace and gusto to mass consciousness to counter the destructive forces of fear and negativity in the worlds of politics, commerce, religion, media, et cetera. Imagine the transformation that’s possible in our individual disagreements with one another.

Which of the Three G’s speaks most powerfully to you? What will you do this week to nurture them all?

All Seeing Eye of the Majestic Pine

When The Roast Is Done

Finally, some snow on the peaks!

... consistency establishes a vortex, and that is your responsibility to yourself. Take the information in, and distill it into your own knowledgeable terms because it is your essence that makes the system work for you. You then become strong in your conviction of who you are and what you are doing. No matter what the world says, you stick to it. Gregge Tiffen (Earth and Second Earth, a volume in The Collected Works of Gregge Tiffen)

When the roast is done, take it out of the oven.

I wavered this week. As I moved toward implementing my decision to close my bed and breakfast business (yep, I made that decision since my last post!), I hesitated. ‘Well, maybe it would work if I …’ I thought. ‘That last insurance quote wasn’t too bad, perhaps I should …’ On the surface, each thought was a good idea worthy of consideration. But they didn’t fit with what I know deep inside: I’m done with this.

I recognized the thoughts as doubts sourced in the all too pervasive scarcity consciousness perpetuated to control using fear. Recognizing the source helped.

But what tipped the scales and moved me into action was a keen awareness based in self-observation over the past several months. My enjoyment of hosting was waning, despite the lovely people who visit. When I received a very expensive insurance quote that simply didn’t work financially, my soul cheered. Every cell in my body knew it was time to end this chapter. Yet my gut clinched at declining to accept reservations as I weighed the decision carefully. ‘Maybe I can find a better insurance option’ I thought. One did emerge that made a bit more financial sense. In the end that didn’t shake the knowing that I was done and the soft calling of some new focus.

Remembering the high cost of continuing when something is done helped. Whether it’s a roast in the oven, a job that no longer inspires (or is barely tolerable), a stale relationship, done is done. Keeping a roast in the oven not only burns the roast, it leaves no room for the chocolate cake that you yearn to be bake. And …

Pouring water in a full glass wastes water and makes a mess.

Operating the B&B had become a ‘full glass’. Observing the energy I expended with a guest here recently confirmed that. This roast is done. To continue wouldn’t serve me or future guests. And, I’ve ridden in this ‘rodeo’ before, ending chapters (jobs, partnerships, relationships, housing, etc.) not knowing what the next would bring. Without exception each brought what I needed and, they’ve all turned out just fine.

As with changes past, I discovered that I changed, grew, expanded from the B&B experience. My future growth requires something new, and that’s not yet clearly defined. After a fantastic four year ride, that ‘something’ is calling for my focus, my energy, my interest and attention. I’m closing with much gratitude and the conviction that my decision to do so is as ‘right’ as the decision to dive in four years ago. That time too was one of questioning, not knowing, and being open to what’s next. Guidance and clarity brought the path. I stepped on it and began the walk, step by step. What a journey!

Each step (and the missteps too!) brought learning. With learning, a deepened understanding of who I am continues to emerge.

So, let the next chapter begin! And, let me stick to living life confident in what I know and in learning even more.

What about you? Is there a ‘roast’ in your oven that’s done? A chocolate cake yearning to be baked? This week, I invite you to take a look inside. Discover what may be complete. And, bake a new cake!

End of the Bed & Breakfast Chapter of the Dragonfly House

Life Is Learning. Learning IS Life

Ever vigilant Luke on a Christmas Day hike.

It’s unfortunate that life, as a learning experience provided by the Universe, isn’t seriously considered very early in life. If it were, you’d embrace, utilize, and enjoy what life experience is giving you all the time. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Mystical Longings – January, 2011) -- [You can find it here: https://smile.amazon.com/Open-Secrets-Mystical-Gregge-Tiffen-ebook/dp/B01LG9UBFM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515626615&sr=1-1&keywords=Mystical+Longings+-+Gregge+Tiffen]

This week I found myself imagining a world where we humans aren’t bumping into one another so much. That is, a peace-filled world rather than the one we’re navigating where it seems we have to be ever vigilant to maintain our sense of self – self-control, self-worth, and self-commitment.

In reflecting on this need to be hyper-observant, even careful (can you imagine ‘filled with CARE’?) in the midst of the world’s chaos, I came back to a Universal tenet that anchors me when I look out at and need to engage with that world:  Life is for learning. Remembering this is especially helpful when I’m in the midst of a challenging event. I am here – in this body at this time to do just that - learn. So are we all. And, wow, the opportunities are vast, perhaps even infinite!

But just how do we embrace the concept that ‘life is learning; learning is life’ with ease? How do we avoid overwhelm and pressure at the sheer vastness of what is available for us to learn? Here are some possibilities to consider.

• Recognize that you are always learning, even if you discover that you aren’t.
• Give yourself credit for ALL you have learned during this sojourn, whether it’s learning to tie your shoes or discovering what you don’t yet know. Celebrate how much you know and what is still to be discovered.
• Avoid comparing your learning to that of others. Your learning is as unique to you as your fingerprint.
• Use what you know. Experiment. There’s no ‘good, bad, right, wrong’ in learning only discovery of what works and what doesn’t.
• Acknowledge that no one is grading your learning! The Universe does not make mistakes.
• Embrace the idea that learning is a never-ending journey. There is no end, and each new tidbit of knowledge is a completed step on the path.
• Define what you want to learn, and take your first step toward acquiring that knowledge.
• Expect the unexpected and delight in new information and insights that seem to come out of nowhere.
• Question everything, especially things that you think you already know.
• Use your senses – all five + one of them. Some of our greatest learning can come from strengthening our ability to gain information from our senses.
• Listen to your ‘gut’ (your instinct or whatever name you give your innate sense of knowing) over what the world tells you.
• Travel the learning road at your pace. Adjust your speed to fit conditions.
• Recognize that all knowledge has the potential to become wisdom, and allow that wisdom to emerge in its time.
• BREATHE! Plop yourself in the driver’s seat. Fasten your seat belt. Relax. Have fun. Enjoy the ride!

Gentleness resting in the woods out back.

Step By Step

On The Road ...

Whatever step you choose will take you closer to where you want to be.   … Creative force is the energy necessary to begin a new experience. … Energy is always in motion.  Gregge Tiffen – Life: The Staircase of Many Steps – January, 2008

Happy New Year! The page has turned, and here we are with the blank canvas of a new year to paint. 361 more days to engage in life - to live, to love, to experiment, to learn, to grow - before we complete the cycle of this calendar year.

Traditionally we set goals, make ‘resolutions’ and plans, to start a new year. And, all too often ‘life’ steps in with other ideas. Or, resistance in some form rears its head.

Overwhelm happens when we forget that all we need to do is take a step. Then another and another, continuing on step by step allowing each step to reveal the next.  When we do this moment by moment, day to day we have the potential to make huge progress on our journey.

The Beauty of Exploration - Hoar Frost on The Palouse - Pullman, Washington

It’s oh so simple, yet from time to time most of us find ourselves stopped, stuck, resisting anything resembling movement.  For me, that’s the time to remember that my body doesn’t give a hoot about love, life or learning. It sees the new, the adventure, and growth as dangerous threats to its sole concern – survival.

Clever in its ways, the body throws out all manner of reasons to not participate in life.  I’m tired. It doesn’t matter. It’s not worth it. I don’t know how. These are the cloaks my body wears to hide what I’m coming to understand is simply resistance. They are clues that I need to step up, challenge, and command my body to MOVE, to take a step, to be in action.

In responding to these clues I’m strengthening my ability to call forth my will.  It helps me to remember that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with turning on the ignition and that the journey is complete mile by mile. The 2656 mile road that I took in December is a fresh reminder as I look ahead to what I want to accomplish in 2018.

I also find that engaging curiosity counters the lethargy of resistance. The simple shift from ‘I don’t know how’ to ‘I wonder how/what I can learn’ is powerful fuel for moving into action.

As I practice these skills, I notice that the creative force needed to engage in new experiences comes forth more naturally and that a gentle flow of life’s events seems to emerge. Step by step through these events I live, I love, I learn, I grow.

Step by step we can accomplish much in this year that is just beginning. May we each step fully into the energy that is always in motion!

Almost Home ... Sangres in the Distance

Auld Lang Syne - 2017

The Sun Sets on Another Year -- Adios, 2017

Another tumultuous year is behind us. My words written at the end of 2016 seem as apropos today as they did 12 months ago.

“Give up the last year. Get rid of all those things of the mundane world. Make room for the awareness of a whole new spiritual understanding that will carry you throughout the next year.” Gregge Tiffen (The Winter Solstice: Giving To Yourself, December 2007)

“… and when you have the willingness to accept who you are, you become aware of an internal flame that burns with a fire that is unquenchable. It’s your acceptance that dispels fears and inadequacies.”  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Sacred Passageways, December 2011)

As the year winds to a close, we tend to look back on that year, its joys, its sorrows, what we accomplished, where we may have fallen short. Hopefully our review list includes acknowledging all that we learned from the opportunities and events that life presented.

As 2017 ends, many will breathe a sigh of relief that it is finally over and a breath of hope for better days in year ahead.  Some look ahead with dread.  These are what draw our attention when we focus on the world outside of us, the world we live IN but the world we are not OF.

The world we live in seems chaotic and uncertain. It is. But within each of us is a seed of understanding who we truly are. Nurturing that seed grows our faith in our capacity to be resilient in the face of the world’s chaos.  Perhaps we need it now more than ever.

The seed of faith is within us all. It is faith not in something outside of us. Rather it is faith in who we are, each as an individual, integral part of an intelligent Universe. It is a reminder that life is so much more than we experience and observe each and every day.

As you ring in 2018, I invite you to join me in nourishing your seed of faith in the 365 days that lie ahead.

Perhaps this prayer, one of my favorites of Gregge’s writing, will support you to deepen your faith in you and in understanding just how important you are in the Universal scheme of things.

Let me never forget how important I am to the Universal Picture. Without me there would be a blank space where there should be color.

Let me understand that the challenges of life are just that and not battles. I am not out there to win or to loose, only to develop my skills as an on-going student in an omnipotent school.

Let me understand that the difference between people is one of the wondrous realities of an infinite Universe. Giving those differences space to be is far more important than comparing them to my set of beliefs.

Let me be proud of what I do. To whatever my hand touches, let me remind myself that it was my effort that added to the result. Perfection is not my goal. Creativity is.

Let me remind myself that most of what I take seriously about myself also qualifies for a good laugh. Let me remember to be kind to myself. Loving companions are one of life’s treats, but they are not responsible for my care. Self-kindness can heal almost any hurt.

Let me take responsibility as a gift and not a burden. Within that effort is the grandest sense of accomplishment I could achieve.

 Let me be patient with life. Nature does not produce the flower before the roots have taken hold. If I recognize that the place I am in is the right place at the right time, it will always be the right place at the right time.

Gregge Tiffen (The Significance of Beginning, January 2007)

... and A Road To the New Year Soon Begins

Emptiness At Solstice - 2017

Winter Warmth

I bring you Solstice Greetings this day with my Solstice post from 2016. Take time to empty and prepare for the new this season …

 What I would exhort you to, what I would give as a gift to you, what I would lay down a soul for, would be for your awareness to recognize that this is a personal event for your life. It is the time that has been set up on this planet for you and Heaven to be with each other without interference. Gregge Tiffen (The Winter Solstice: Giving To Yourself – December, 2007)*

Emptiness seems like a strange word to ascribe to the season of winter holidays with their bright lights, joyful sounds, and festivities to match.  And, yet, giving yourself the gift of emptying is an important part of being prepared to receive the new that is sure to come as the sun begins her journey back to the north.  After all, the full glass cannot receive more wine.

In the Christmas Story, we are told that the inn was full. And, yet a receptive place for the birth was found. So it is for each of us.

We too need to empty and make ourselves receptive to the new.  Solstice is a time to declare one cycle complete, making way for another to begin. It is a time to embrace the realm of spirit and turn our backs on the material world, if only for a brief time. It is a time to bless and release all who have crossed your path in this cycle, knowing that those who are meant to return will be there in the new one.

And, perhaps most important of all, it is time to let go of who we were in the cycle that is completing.  The ‘you’ of that cycle is complete as well. And a new you of your design and making awaits.

As our planet prepares to celebrate her birthday, let us honor her by taking time to reflect this gift of the time when heaven and nature sing as one. May we each sing along in our own unique and harmonious way.

* The Winter Solstice has become my personal spiritual holiday over the years. You can read more about that here - http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/the-gift-of-solstice