War Is Not The Answer

Winter Clouds Over the Sacred Sangres

The power of nonviolence is not circumstance-specific. It is as applicable to the problems that confront us now, as to problems that confronted generations in the past. It is not a medicine or a solution so much as a healing process. It is the active spiritual immune system of humanity. Marianne Williamson (The Healing of America - 1997)

The above quote popped out at me one recent morning after experiencing a deep sense of the need to shift consciousness, individually and collectively, around what we call ‘disease’. The message came through loud and clear:

War and fighting are not the paths for ending the current pandemic OR future ones. Rather than attack diseases as enemies, reach out with love and curiosity to discover what messages they hold for healing, growth, and humanity’s evolution. Just as we have the potential to cultivate peace with one another, we hold the potential to cultivate health - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

As I reflected on that message and as Williamson’s words suggest, nonviolence holds the potential to address the myriad of 'ills' that individual humans and humanity collectively suffer: poverty, racial discrimination, hate, conflict, injustice, inequality, etc. etc.

We need to stop. To listen with mind, heart, and gut. We need to hear ourselves, our bodies and we need to respond to their pleadings to create health not simply fight off disease when it occurs or vaccinate ourselves against it. The body has vast capabilities to heal and to stay healthy IF we will create an environment within which it can do its job. Clean water; nourishing organic foods; exercise; reducing stress and fear; and maintaining a positive outlook on life can do wonders to create the magic of health in our bodies. This is the foundation of a nonviolent approach to health.

We need to listen to one another.  We need to listen to those with whom we agree and, especially, to those whose views are contrary to our own. We need to hear one another from the heart, not just the head. We need to seek not victory as the paradigms of war and competition promote, but unity. We need to more deeply understand that we are all connected, indeed that everything is connected; and to develop new systems and approaches to thriving lives on our planet. This, for me, is the nature of nonviolence that both Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King suggested in their words and in their deeds.

Perhaps now as a new year begins is a time to commit or to re-commit to learning, practicing, and engaging nonviolence in ALL aspects of life. The 24th ‘Season for Nonviolence’ beginning on January 30th and ending on April 4th offers one approach to such engagement.

Established in 1998 by Arun Gandhi to honor his grandfather and Dr. King, the ‘season’ begins on the anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination and continues for 64 days, ending on the anniversary of the MLK’s assassination. Now convened each year by the Association for Global New Thought (AGNT), this year’s theme is ’64 days, 64 ways’.

I haven’t yet chosen my path for expanding my commitment to and practice of nonviolence, so I invite you to join me in learning more here and finding a path that fits your schedule, your style, and the personal commitment you wish to make to our individual and collective evolution.

Ending Note: As I complete this post, peaceful protest in the nation’s capital seems to be giving way to violence. May the power of peace and love prevail.

New Year Sunset

Living Life Beautifully

Signs of Winter on the Creek

The pain we feel for our world is a living testimony to our interconnectedness with it. If we deny this pain, we become like blocked and atrophied neurons, deprived of life's flow and weakening the larger body in which we take being. But if we let it move through us, we affirm our belonging; our collective awareness increases. We can open to the pain of the world in confidence that it can neither shatter nor isolate us, for we are not objects that can break. We are resilient patterns within a vaster web of knowing. Joanna Macy

As I prepare to bid this current cycle adieu (none to soon in the view of most) the quote above reminded me that pain is a part of living life beautifully. Macy also reminds us of this: We are resilient patterns within a vaster web of knowing. We are part of a unified field of being, each a field within fields … but I digress.

Because we tend to collapse pain with suffering (and who among wants to suffer?), all too often we deny our pain. Yet, as Macy suggests, pain is a doorway, a portal to recognizing the beauty of our interconnectedness, the unity of all life. We need not deny pain its place in order not to suffer. We need only embrace our pain and allow it to reveal its wisdom. Tears may flow. Joy is sure to follow.

As I reflected on the questions that emerged in last week’s post (click here if you missed it), I experienced a felt sense of having walked this earth before. Recently, I’ve been drawn to explore ancient civilizations and the startling discoveries rocking the world of archeology. Such unearthings are the nature of growth and change: new discoveries guide us to understand differently what we once thought of as ‘truth’.

A part of living life beautifully is opening to whatever pain new discovery may bring. Our pain is likely to include the discomfort of letting go of treasured understandings. We cling to the old at our peril. We suffer when doing so is our choice.

Although I am optimistic about the future, I hold no illusion that a new year, a new presidential administration, a vaccine will return us to the ‘normal’ that so many long for. That ‘normal’ was and is deeply flawed. Its social, economic, and environmental injustices were and are vastly out of sync with Universal law, not to mention common decency. Change we must, individually and collectively. That for me is living life beautifully.

My heart, indeed my whole being, aches for those who are facing health challenges, loss of the physical presence of loved ones, economic hardship, discrimination and other social injustices. I feel my connectedness with them, and I wonder what role I can play in bringing light to the darkness, healing to the pain. What do I need to change in me to be part of the healing, the growth, the love standing ready to be revealed?

And, my. heart, indeed my whole being, aches for our planet and the vast abuses our ‘normal’ has cast upon her. I know that my heart beats with Mother Earth. What do I need to change in me to be part of the healing, the growth, the love standing ready to be revealed?

Living life beautifully is living life aligned with our true nature, a nature that knows nothing of the ills that plague our culture. Finding our unique alignment is the key to unlocking a path to a world that works for all.

Still in Flow

Fertile Ground

Past their peak, but there is still much beauty in this aspen grove.

What we need is not another doctrine, but an awakening that can restore our spiritual strength. What made Mahatma Gandhi's struggle a great success was not a doctrine—not even the doctrine of nonviolence—but Gandhi himself, his way of being. A lot is written today about the doctrine of nonviolence and people everywhere are trying to apply it. But they cannot rediscover the vitality that Gandhi had, because the ‘Gandhians’ do not possess Gandhi's spiritual strength. They have faith in his doctrine but cannot set into motion a movement of great solidarity because none of them possess the spiritual force of a Gandhi and therefore cannot produce sufficient compassion and sacrifice. Thich Nhat Hahn

In the midst of the muse reflecting on the insights and inspirations which have crossed my path this week I was looking to discover if there is a common thread or theme. Then, life popped in unexpectedly.

It has been my practice for most of the 370+ weeks to ignore all incoming calls, emails, etc. Wednesday mornings are devoted exclusively to musing and discovering what wants to be shared in this week’s post. Today I needed to break from that pattern to handle a time sensitive issue regarding my cousin’s estate.

The issue addressed (at least for a bit), I gently returned to the muse and the message.  Noticing the broad scope of ideas and events that sprouted to take root in my attention this week, the phrase ‘fertile ground’ came to mind. I was aware of all that screamed for attention that I mostly gently (and sometimes not) turned away. What about my fertile ground guides me to make those choices?

I’m aware of and embrace the idea that deep change is underway individually and collectively for humanity and throughout all of nature and our precious home, Mother Earth. (Beyond this earth, I suspect that the same is true – but that is perhaps a muse for another day … As Above, So Below … As Below, So Above …). What about my fertile ground has me see life in this way and to be curious about the thresholds that are before me/us in the days, weeks, years ahead?

From what fertile ground does my conviction that how we choose to BE as we walk through this change is, moment to moment, determining how that change will be? What cultivated my deep knowing that ‘by our thoughts, our feelings, our beliefs and our actions we are co-creating our life, our future – individually and collectively’?

I think that somewhere along this 70-year path of my life, I embraced building my spiritual strength (you wondered, didn’t you, what the heck the quote had to do with this muse?).  Decades ago, weary after years of political activism and hard driving in my profession, I was exhausted and fearful that I couldn’t keep up (whatever the heck that meant at the time). A seed of metaphysical curiosity sprouted as I took time off to figure out what to do with my life.

I’ve nurtured that ground (not always consistently) since it sprouted. I’d like to think that I have some measure of spiritual strength as a result. As I choose how to navigate and BE in the changes upon us, I aim to make choices from a place of spiritual knowing rather than from some prescribed doctrine (religious, political, etc.). That is the fertile ground on which I stand from which the seeds of my expression flow. That is the ground I choose to nurture and grow.

What about you? What is your fertile ground? What is your state of being in the world? What attention is needed so that you can meet the thresholds before you with strength, conviction and with love?

A Quiet Hike in Nature’s Beauty

Ponder THIS Possibility

Water’s Response to Love and Gratitude

To give your positive or negative attention to something is a way of giving energy. The most damaging form of behavior is withholding your attention. … Water records information, and while circulating throughout the earth distributes information. This water sent from the universe is full of the information of life... … If we consider that the human body is a universe within itself, it is only natural to conclude that we carry within us all the elements. Masaru Emoto - Hidden Messages in Water

You operate beyond negativity when you are in control of you not by attempting to control conditions. We live in the ocean of consciousness that is boundless. All things in the ocean have available to them the same things. All of love, happiness, and freedom are available in the ocean of consciousness. Gregge Tiffen – The Language of a Mystic: Awareness

Throughout the time since March when Covid 19 was declared a pandemic, I’ve been curious about what messages, what lessons the event and the virus itself might teach us. I’ve observed our fear and how it is being used to divide us and further our sense of separation. I’ve explore my own fear as it has arisen and invited me to put it to rest.

I’ve observed and experienced love, the best within us supporting one another showing our care and love. Being masked and keeping our distance without allowing those masks or physical distance to isolate.

Indeed we are navigating a different world and in so doing we are creating the world that will be in the future. This time is ripe for reflection, consideration of new perspectives, especially ones that challenge the mainstream thinking seeking to control conditions rather than gracefully ride the waves.

A thought-provoking idea crossed my path last week. What if the coronavirus is an evolutionary driver?

Viruses like all life contain information. What if we became curious about what this virus has to teach us? What if we loved rather than feared it?

Thinking about that reminded me of Masaru Emoto’s powerful work and images demonstrating the power of our thoughts and the impact of sending love and gratitude to water. I first heard of his work in the film What the Bleep do We Know? The film’s website (click here) has some of the stunning images of from Emoto’s work. Take a look. Contrast water’s response to love, gratitude, Mozart to its response to ‘you make me sick’.  Then consider, what perspective you choose to hold about this virus?

What if, like water as it circulates through the earth, this virus (perhaps all viruses?) imparts information as it moves through our body?

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

Let’s spread some new thinking. Keep wearing our masks while we unmask new possibilities for creating life in harmony with all of nature.

The Work of Freedom: Harmonizing With The Universe

Good Morning July!

It has become crucial that we break away from dependency and become independent thinkers, independent teachers, independent people. Doing such is like swimming upstream, but once you find yourself in harmony with the way the Universe is moving, you get tremendous support for what you want to do and the swimming becomes easier. Gregge Tiffen (Finding Freedom: The Meaning of Independence Day -July, 2007)

This past week has presented a variety of experiences and learning opportunities, new information some of it conflicting, new resources, and a roller coaster ride with Zadie Byrd that reflects the tension of our world.  This morning, as I sat quietly to discover where the muse might guide me, Gregge Tiffen’s quote above came on my radar along with numerous other ideas. All faded except his idea of becoming independent.

And that led me to thinking about the work that becoming independent and maintaining it requires. It seems that we have lost our understanding that the gift of free will granted by the Universe requires practice, experimentation, adaptation, and adjustment. For too many it has become far easier to depend on others, on systems, on governments than it is to do the work of thinking and acting for ourselves. Work that is deep and requires knowing yourself intimately from the inside out.

Now, I’m not saying that we are not connected, interdependent, or that we shouldn’t care for one another! To the contrary, each of us is one of the One, just as each cell in our body is one cell of the one that is ‘I’. That is the design. That is the seed of our being. Just as does each cell in our body, we each have an individual and unique role to play in the unfolding of life.

Harmony is a basic element of Universal design. The cells of our body are designed to harmonize. The elements of ecosystems are designed to harmonize.

With every fiber of my being, I believe that WE are designed to harmonize – within and in our expressions and relationships in the world. All too often we have forgotten this truth and given ourselves over to systems and to others rather than doing our individual work: that of harmonizing within. We see the effects in chaotic events, addictions, violence, war … and the list goes on. In a world where dependency has become the norm, we shout demands for freedom without embracing the responsibility and doing the work that true freedom and independence require.

I witness and am appalled by fascist and authoritarian trends here in the U.S. where in a few days we will celebrate ‘Independence Day’. I do so not from the sense of loyalty to country that was drilled into me almost from birth, but from a knowing deep within my cells, cells that hold the wisdom of the Universe, that I (and you, and each and every one of us) have been granted independence, free will, freedom as a divine right. We have a distance to travel to bring this to fruition, individually and collectively.

I ask questions. What is my role in bringing about the harmony that true independence represents? How might my choices be contributing to the disharmony? How do I harmonize within?

I do my best to listen and to respond. Action by action. Step by step. Day by day. For me, that is the work of independence. That is harmonizing with the Universe. Done from a sense of personal choice and with curiosity, love, intention, purpose, and care, it is work that brings me peace, joy, and deep sense of satisfaction. From that place I can authentically celebrate the ‘Independence Day’.    

Back to Basics: Life and Death

Circle of Elders - Honoring those whose journey continues in the world hereafter …

To die will be an awfully big adventure. Peter Pan by Sir J.M. Barrie

This morning as I woke, began moving about and thinking about this week’s post, I pulled Gregge Tiffen’s book, Life in the World Hereafter: The Journey Continues) off the shelf. I hadn’t looked at it for quite a long while and wondered what it might offer in terms of pivoting – both personally and for this weekly post.

The week for me has been a bit of a roller coaster as I’ve explored some current stories and events, curious about the stories underlying them.  In many I found what seems to be much of humanity’s current story: competition, finite life, I’m right/you’re wrong, directives as to what to do, etc.

When I opened Gregge’s book, these words popped out at me:

The Law of Free Will does not terminate with death. We have choice both now and in the hereafter. I can’t help but feel that one of our greatest human defects is that we don’t recognize our power and the potential it affords us.

That took me back to basics and to other words of his wisdom:

If we understood death and the reason for it, if we knew what to expect in the hereafter, we could appreciate the life we have and make it a deep and satisfying adventure.

This Gregge Tiffen wisdom started for me as an idea on a page many years (okay, decades – but who’s counting) ago. Over my years of exploration, experience and study it became a belief. It is a belief on which I base many (hopefully most and, with awareness, heading toward ALL) choices in life. A new story about death is the beginning of truly living.

Amidst so much talk and attention to ‘death’ today, it seems useful to examine our stories about just what death is. Where did your stories originate? Are they still valid for you? Do they support you in living a full, satisfying life (whatever that me mean to you individually)? 

Perhaps one of our points of pivot is our stories about life and death. Perhaps now is a good time to take stock of them.

Is your story that life is finite? That you and I – body, mind, spirit – are here on the earth for x number of years and then we ‘die’? We are done, gone. Period. End of (our) story.  Imagine for a moment what life choices one is likely to make from such a story. Is this what we observe as we watch the world unfold each day?

Or is your story that life is infinite, a continuum of cycles, in form and formless, on this earth plane and beyond? Therefore, there is no ‘death’ other than of a physical body at the end of its cycle. Imagine what life choices one makes from this story and how deepening conviction in this story can expand our choices in life. A new story about death is the beginning of truly living.

Like life itself, our beliefs (our stories) about life and death evolve over time as we each experience our unique journey and become more aware of our story. I believe Peter Pan is right! What are your stories?

Long Live the Free Box!

Sacred Fare for Cultivating Health

Sunset in the Woods - Waiting on the Full Moon to Rise

Health is the state of natural harmony producing optimum performance. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: The Hidden Wealth of New Worth – April, 2011)

A different morning pattern emerged today. ‘Walk first,’ I heard as I rose and began to move about. Usually I sit and, on blog day, write the post before the morning walk. But the nudge felt right. We geared up and headed out.

The morning air was crisp; the sky, a bit hazy. Still. Quiet. We walked slowly. That is Zadie Byrd’s way. I’m grateful. She reminds me of my pace and to stop, observe, use my senses as she tunes her nose into the corner ‘doggie-net’ to discover who has already come by.

Although today’s musing was but a bundle of seed thoughts in my mind, I relaxed into the patterns of our walk, knowing that one of the seeds would sprout, wanting to be shared. No rush!

What emerged once we returned home and I settled down, pen and journal in hand, was what has been a theme for many of us these past few weeks: maintaining health.  I was reminded of Gregge Tiffen’s definition of health that I wrote about several years ago (read it here - http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/healthy-thinking)

Creating and maintaining our health is a personal, individual path. That’s true today amidst the pandemic, and it will be true beyond this event.  The choices we have are, perhaps, more pronounced today, but boil down to choosing between love and fear. Which will we feed?  Will we tap into the raging fear or find a fare that better serves us? How might we reorder the letters of ‘scared’ to create this as a sacred time and feed ourselves a fare that cultivates health of body, mind and spirit? How can I acknowledge fear when it is present, without giving it my power?

These are the questions I’m asking myself from day to day. And, then I’m listening and observing and exploring.  What dietary fare does my body need and want this day?  What supplements?  What dietary advice is out there that will support my health?

I’m struck by what an individual journey diet, exercise, rest, and such are. There is no ‘one size fits all’.  It has me wonder, beyond current events, how with a better understanding of our individuality we can create a true ‘health care’ system rather than our current disease management system that seems stretched beyond its capacity.

But I digress. I find myself doing so frequently these days, putting attention on ‘from this, what else is possible?’ personally, locally and globally. While there will be an ‘after this’ that I’m curious about, today I want to put attention on our health, yours and mine, and share a bit more about the path I’m choosing.

I’m aiming each day to remember that there is a Universal hand in this experience and all events. That the qualities of the Universe (spirit, God, or whatever you choose to name it) are ever present and available: abundance, beauty, harmony, joy, love, light, life, peace, power. Where one is present there be them all. Find one wherever you are.

I’m being gentle, VERY gentle, with myself as I aim for more awareness and mindfulness in my choices. As I carefully choose food for my body, I’m choosing information and spiritual food that will support my mental and spiritual health. I limit news to reading (not watching or listening) what is current in my community so I can adjust as warranted. Beyond that, I scan for trends that may inform my choices in all domains of life and feel that politically curious part of me with a scan of headlines and staying informed about social, economic and environmental issues and movements that I care about.

But my main fare in keeping this journey sacred is spending time in the beauty of nature that surrounds me (I am so very, very blessed!) and reading or listening to thought leaders presenting thoughtful, uplifting ideas and tools to consider and practice. Among the many that have move me this week is Sounds True founder, Tamy Simon, interviewing Michael A. Singer (author of The Surrender Experiment). Find it here along with many other good listening experiences on Simon’s podcasts) https://product.soundstrue.com/resilience-in-challenging-times/?_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJjaW5keUBzdAWNjZXNzem9uZS5jb20iLCAia2xfY29tcGFueV9pZCI6ICJKTURnYXEifQ%3D%3D.

If you’re challenged to dance with fear and transform it, my colleague and friend, Kathy Wilson has written an informative series over the past three weeks in her newsletter The Journal of Spirited Coaching (click here for a list on her website) http://www.warrior-priestess.com/Newsletters/#archives

All that we take in must be digested and either absorbed for our health or eliminated. That’s true of our food as well as the fare we feed our hearts and minds. Be care-filled in your choices.

Smells Good Enough to Drink on a Warm Spring Day!

Spring! Awaken, Think Deeply, Pivot

Yield and step into the flow of nature.

Life seems to fail us because we do not make new space for ourselves. … life is a continuum of things being ‘broke’. Unless you are willing to take a new stance, walk a new path, find a new answer, develop a new character, build a new body, express in new terms, and see through new eyes, everything will remain the same. … Nature moves down two pathways. One assures equal balance on the planet. The other leads to a natural development and advancement of all living things.  Gregge Tiffen (It’s Springtime! Flow with the Power of Nature – March, 2007)

Spring! The earth spins and the season of new growth begins here in the northern hemisphere. Half of the globe is springing into newness and light. The other half ‘falling’ into the season of harvest with the darkness of winter just beyond.

But no matter the season, life has changed drastically for all of us. We have the power to decide how that change will emerge. As nature moves down her two pathways, balance and advancement, will we step into her flow, listen deeply to her voice, reflect on her cries, and pivot to create new ways to live on our precious planet?  Or, will we simply pause, rest, entertain ourselves in the hope that life will soon return to ‘normal’? Which will I choose?

Do we have the courage to challenge the thinking of scientific materialism that has taken us further and further from nature, our mother? Do I?

Are we willing to be honest with ourselves about the destruction we each cause in our daily participation in a culture that values science and the material world over spirit, not understanding that the two are not separate? Am I?

Might we examine the life we call ‘normal’ knowing (even complaining about) the stresses that it creates in our bodies, our relationships, and all of life? Might I?

Our children who haven’t yet lost their connection to nature are asking and, rightfully, demanding. From Greta Thunberg, to the Sunrise Movement (www.sunrisemovement.org), to your own children and grandchildren as voiced by this young person’s question to ‘mom’ over breakfast posted by a colleague yesterday on Facebook:

Mom, we’re doing our part and staying home from school, not seeing our friends, not going outside. We are doing this even though Coronavirus won’t kill us. We’re doing this to help the adults and the older people to live longer and healthier lives. So, when this is all over, will they repay us by making changes to save the environment? So that we will be able to live longer, healthier lives when we are their age?
Because, you know, that seems fair to me.

How will we respond? How will I?

Will we simply hit the ‘play’ button when this pause is over and scramble to return to life as it was or as close to that as we can make it? Or will we use this time to think deeply and pivot to creating a culture and systems that recognize and use both spirit and science/material things, that honor the ways of nature and acknowledges that we will not control her?  Will we boldly demand a culture and systems that respect ALL life?

As I watch the snow fall in the woods out my window my heart knows that these are questions. And, as history has shown us time after time, a ‘war’ on the problem is not the answer.

Use this time wisely. Rest. Take extraordinary care of yourself and those you love. Hold those whose choices you loath in light and love for they too are on a journey of learning just as each of us. Muster the courage and willingness to think deeply and honestly about your life. Build upon that courage to pivot to walk through life anew.    

The calendar says ‘Spring’. Mother Nature says ‘not yet’.

Tapping Into Essence

Morning Trail - Heading for Home

Within any amount of knowledge is essence. It is the essence that produces wisdom, and it is wisdom that registers in consciousness. You are worth more than you or I can ever describe in human terms. You are irrepressible and invincible. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: The Nature of Feminine Truth – March, 2011)

Gregge’s quote has been with me since yesterday morning when its wisdom leapt off the page and pulled me into the muse. (Yikes! “It’s only Wednesday”, I thought.)

On each walk with Zadie Byrd (yes, ‘Sadie’ has a new name that seems to perfectly fit her essence!) I looked deeply into the mountains, the trees, the rocks, and the vast valley recognizing the beauty that is nature’s essence. A neighbor called with produce to share, the essence of love.

Later ‘essence’ popped into a conversation with a colleague and friend as she updated me on her book, sharing that she is aiming to share the ‘essence’ of the women she’s profiling in the project, not long details of their stories.

Except perhaps when I was focused on organizing info for my tax return, the ‘essence muse’ was with me throughout the day. Perhaps on some unconscious level it was there as well.

In the evening, as I read several chapters of Rivera Sun’s prescient 2013 novel, The Dandelion Insurrection, with its underlying theme of love and the movement’s motto, “Be kind. Be connected. Be Unafraid.”, I saw more clearly than ever that love is the essence that weaves us together as humans on this planet. Indeed, love weaves the fabric of the Universe.

I surrendered to slumber knowing that ‘love is our essence’.  I woke this morning with a deep sense that love is our core. Not just mine, yours, our friends, family and those who share our views, EVERYone’s.

This isn’t a new idea of course, but the muse invited me to feel it more deeply, to embrace love as the essence that breathes worth and value into each of our lives, to more fully BE the love that makes us irrepressible and invincible. The muse reminded me that love is the essence of the Universe of which we are each part and parcel. What is true of the whole is true for its parts. That’s you, me, everything, and EVERYone.

I began to see love even at the core of fear and of hate, but that’s a musing for another day.

For now, look deeply into what you know. Look until you see the love embedded there. Use what you know with the love at its core, the same love that is your core as well. Love is my experiment for the week. Join me?

Zadie Byrd Marching Home with her Antler Find

TWO!

From ONE - Split! - Two

You cannot separate yourself from the Universe. … I must find within the separation the basic one unity so that I never really leave the thing I am separated from, and I never really leave the Universe or you. … We have never left each other. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Polarities – February, 2009)

When I noticed today’s date – 2-20-2020 – this morning as I began to write, I felt a surge of curiosity and sensed ‘Wow, what a powerful day!’  I wondered ‘what’s up with two … and with the sum of today’s 2s, 8?’

As I reflected a bit and read from Gregge Tiffen’s booklet quoted above, I thought about the seeming paradox that there is a Universal Law of Separation, yet we are not separate from the Universe or from one another. The number ‘2’ represents this. From ‘one’ we get ‘two’. Those ‘two’ each contain all the qualities of the One from which they came. And, everything came from the Universe.

There is beauty in the number ‘2’ for without two we could not experience and learn about balance and harmony. It takes two to tango, the saying goes, and when we dance together, we demonstrate the synchronous joy of the Universe as One harmonious unit.

When I need to make kindling for starting a fire on a cold winter’s morning, each swing of the maul or the hatchet separates one piece of wood into two (okay, sometimes I need two swings to achieve separation, but that’s a topic for another day!). I repeat from each of those two and two becomes four, et cetera, until I have the size needed. Each piece retains the qualities of the first piece I split. And, that first piece has the qualities of the tree from which it came. And each piece has all the qualities of the Universe.

I take this back in time to the beginning of the tree from which the log came. At some point a seed separated itself from another tree and fell onto receptive ground. That seed held the potential to become a tree. Over time it did so, growing in receptive ground that likewise contains all the qualities of the Universe. Yet the soil and the tree are distinct manifestations, both necessary for the seed to fulfill its potential.

Eight is the number that represents manifestation. Viewed laying on its side, 8 is the symbol of infinity. From One, separation brings Two, an infinite cycle throughout all time and across everything in this wonderous Universe.

We are not separate from the Universe or from one another. You cannot separate yourself from the Universe period! You just cannot do that and nothing can. That is the Law, and that is how the Law operates. The premise is that you are not different from the Universe from which you are drawn. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Polarities – February, 2009)

What is possible to manifest if we learn to live from knowing and understanding this basic Universal truth?

Favorite Old Tree — from a seed and with all the characteristics of the Universe