Dream A Little Dream

Yes. That IS snow.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Green ... the promise of Spring!

Matter Matters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What WAS I Thinking?

Looking UP!

Like produces like and only after its kind. … Cause producing an exact effect. The Law of Karma is the first basic law of life established on the planet. … This means that every thought equals itself in another thought or action. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Creativity – March, 2009)

I often think about the impact of our thoughts as contributions to the quality of life on the planet.  For good or ill our thoughts collectively matter on a global, planetary level.  They matter up close and personal in our own day to day lives as well.

As I come to end of another trip around the sun and prepare for the next, I find myself reflecting on the law of cause and effect and I wonder just what thoughts created my experiences this cycle. 

What was I thinking that led to the experience of a hiatal hernia flare-up?  More importantly, what thoughts led to the actions that supported my recovery? What thoughts led to a controversial situation that had me choose ‘flight’ over fight since no other options seemed available?  What thoughts bring forth the ease with which my life mostly flows?

Although I’m still in the midst of this review and reflection, I’ve noticed that specific thoughts are challenging to identify in these situations. Patterns of thoughts and the beliefs underneath them are much easier to spot.  My thoughts tend to be grounded in trusting that the Universe is unfolding just as it should, accompanied by a strong sense of self-belief and an abundance of gratitude. At least that’s my aim.

And, sometimes my thoughts miss that target.  Perhaps I took in a bit too much of how the world thinks about health (‘there’s something wrong, find the problem and medicate to fix it) and allowed that to overshadow my own belief in the body’s capacity to heal and maintain health when I provide the support it needs. 

Sometimes thoughts can feel just as tight and tangled as these trees ... yet, they are beautiful in the midst of nature's beauty.

And, sometimes my thoughts just take off on a mindless journey of their own. I feel helpless to reel them back in. ‘How dare she/he …?’ ‘Can you believe (blah, blah, blah)?’ Then, I remember that those thoughts just like the beautiful ones are creating equal thoughts or actions and I stop.  Mindless thoughts have no place in a universe characterized by abundance, beauty, harmony, joy, love, light, life, peace, and power.  It occurs to me as I write that a ‘find and replace’ feature in my mind would be an awesome app. Heck, while we’re creating, how about a ‘virus’ screen for negative thoughts?

For now though, self-awareness and making each change will need to suffice. Notice a worry about health or a concern about not having enough ________ (you can fill in the blank for you)? Thinking snarky thoughts about someone or some event? Don’t extend by feeding. Cut off its life line. Return to my core.

While I may not be able to identify the specific thought that led to an experience, I observe the patterns and the trends.  I’m exploring which ones I want to nurture and expand in this new cycle.  And, I know which ones I want to post the ‘access denied!’ message to.  And, the beat goes on into the new …

Bluebird, blue sky. Beautiful Day!

What The World Needs Now

A few of my favorite things -- Cool Hand Luke, Cottonwood Creek, and a beautiful crisp morning!

What the world needs now is love, sweet love… (lyrics by Hal David, music by Burt Bacharach)

Without our faith in the unseen, the reality becomes too overwhelming, too horrible to bear. It is from the unseen that we draw the courage to deal with the reality that confronts us. (Gregge Tiffen – It’s Springtime: Flow With The Power of Nature – March, 2007)

What the world needs now IS love, the vibration of love from every being on the planet.  Love is a characteristic of the Universe. With love come the other Universal characteristics: abundance, beauty, harmony, joy, light (intelligence), life, peace, and power. The world needs these as its foundation.  We need them in order to navigate that world.

This week I’m struck by the level of despair that I’ve heard in listening to the world: to news reports, to Facebook posts, to conversations with others.  With all my heart, I beg you: DENY DESPAIR.  Yes, I know that in the view of many, the world as we know it is falling apart. Change is upon us. Our opportunity is to be the love on which a new foundation can be built.

Allowing despair and any other members of the family of fear to take hold of your being is just what the world would like. Despair, you see, leads to abdication. And, that is how the world controls. As contemporary author and activist Rivera Sun says in The Dandelion Insurrection, “When fear is used to control us, love is how we rebel.”

I want change to be grounded in love, not in fear. And, since I have no control over others, it seems that my job is to muster all the love, the harmony, the light that I can in my own walk through this world.  I notice that it’s easy for me to get caught up in the drama that seems to be the world today. Yet I want to stay informed.

In reflecting on how to do so, I was reminded by something my coach wrote this week that we have two eyes – one to focus on the world, the other to focus on the Universe. I have two ears as well. Perhaps the same applies. Listen to the world with one. Listen to the Universe with the other.

For certain I need an antidote to what I see and hear when I look at/listen to the world. For me, the Universe offers just that in the form of nature and, perhaps more important, quiet time to listen to the small, still voice inside.  I also find inspired places in the world to explore: art, inspirational writing, and music to name a few. Then, I can see and hear the world from a different perspective. This I know. And this I am learning to apply and to practice.

What about you? Are your ‘sources’ of input only from the world’s chaos? Or are you giving equal time to the Universe so that you can find and contribute the love that our world so needs?  

May we have the clarity and flow of a mountain stream.

Power From The Source

Symbols abound when you walk in love and wonder.

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. … If we refuse to take our proper and rightful place, it will be filled by someone or something to exert power over us. Whether we like it or not, we will have to live with the realization that we have abdicated our throne. We will have turned our potent forces over to the negative forces of the world that will use that power to keep us in bondage. We must never forget that a rightful force unused will, by the law of its own character, become a force misused.  Gregge Tiffen [Deserve Success and You Will Command It – March, 2008]

As I observe politics these days and make choices about my participation, I’m aiming to do so from my position of power. Not from anger. Not from fear. Not from impotence. Even though, from time to time, I find myself feeling them. At those times, I’m aiming to remember to go within to remind myself that true power, Universal Power, comes, not from man and the world’s systems but from Universal Source.

As I seek to understand what I observe, I wonder where and how ‘we the people’ have abdicated that Power. It seems that we must have done so to find ourselves where we are: divided in oh so many ways and continuing to believe that by force (the antithesis of power) we can control. History tells us otherwise. The illusion of control is just that, a fleeting illusion.

Force and its allies are not characteristics of the Universe.  Power and its allies (abundance, beauty, harmony, joy, peace, love, light, life) are.

While the political science major (yes, I was) in me is fascinated by current events, the ‘me’ that I’ve come to be cares more about the learning opportunities these events present. As messy as the world seems there must be gazillions. Or, as the optimist digging in a pile of manure said when asked ‘why’, “with all this sh__ there must be a pony in here somewhere”.

In the midst of all the behaviors, words, bills, policies that I find troubling – what might I learn? How do I navigate this world from my Power?

I sense we have vast opportunities to do just that: participate knowing the Source of our true Power. From that awareness and with each of us participating in our own unique ways, a different world is possible.

I’m looking for the pony. What about you?

Snow and ice cover Cottonwood Creek today after a snow ...

What a difference a day makes!

Joy: A Doorway to Power

From Melt to Freeze ... Spring Inches Closer

However, the joy of consciousness is not a sense of euphoric feelings of laughter about things that are occurring. It is the joy of knowing that you exist and that you are in harmony enjoying yourself. It is a sense of knowing above and beyond what the body may be involved in doing.  Gregge Tiffen (Echoing: Expectations – September, 2016)

A couple weeks back I shared Gregge Tiffen’s list of the nine characteristics of the Universe (http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/an-atmosphere-of-well-being). They are abundance, harmony, beauty, joy, love, light (intelligence), life, peace, and power. I explored beauty in that post, discovering (as Gregge shared) that where beauty was present, so too were the other characteristics. My discovery was reinforced this week as I explored the characteristic of joy.

We tend to think of joy as something we experience infrequently. You know, when you experience something terrific, you ‘jump for joy’. And, that joy passes. It’s joy triggered by something in the world. It’s an experience of the body and our emotions.

Those experiences are a part of life. While they bring a time of pleasantness and fun, this joy doesn’t represent the journey of the soul. It’s not consciousness.

In exploring joy this week, I discovered that difference. I found joy not it observing events of the world (although there are some amazing people, doing amazing things these days!), but rather in going back to basics: self-observation, quiet reflection, awareness, then, action.

I’d been stuck in a recurring physical health experience that I couldn’t get beyond. It’s lingered for months in varying degrees and discomforts, and my efforts to address it mostly with outside support weren’t having the lasting impact I desired.  And so, finally, I got quiet. I asked for guidance. And, I listened. I heard “You’ve been here before. You know what to do. That’s all.” Say what? I wanted explicit directions.

And, then I remembered. I’d experienced very similar symptoms, recurring over several months, 15 or more years ago. Instantly, I knew what to do (and I still had the book from that earlier experience to guide me). I went into action with clarity and sense of confidence. I knew.

Today, I feel a sense of joy far beyond the elation of disappearing symptoms.  I see clearly that where the pure joy of being exists, so to do abundance, beauty, harmony, love, light, life, peace and power. In particular I see that each is a doorway to the others and that joy was the door to unlock my personal power. I love the unity of these qualities and that we only need engage one to experience the others! How cool is that?

I’m grateful and deeply aware that we are each imbued with power that no one, no system, no thing can take away. But that’s a story for another day. Meanwhile, I invite to go back to basics with something that’s dogging you and won’t let go. Observe, reflect, listen, then, act. Notice the joy and power in that!

Heart on Ice!

Conspiracy Theories

Beauty in the Broken

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)

So there. That’s that. You are the Universe. You are all its qualities. I am too, along with 7.125 billion humans scattered over the planet. In Universal terms none is greater or lesser than another. Oh to see one another through the eyes of the Universe, and then live from that perspective. I aspire, but I’m no saint. Yet my aspiration has offered up new insights this week.

The world constantly yaps that we are separate and, thus, should live in fear of one another. Some of those messages are overt and obvious. We hear them and recognize that we have a choice about whether to accept or reject. Others are more subtle and insidious. We may not even be aware that messages suggesting “that’s just the way things are” are swirling about. Hence, we don’t clearly see that we have a choice. We go along to get along. Both are messages of a system that puts power in the mundane, fame, fortune and seeks to control based on fear. And, both are erroneous.

In my quest to discover beauty in every thing last week (http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/an-atmosphere-of-well-being), I found myself going beyond the five senses to find beauty in those ways of the world that I abhor. Yet, beauty I found.

I discovered beauty in the vast learning opportunities our chaotic world is offering moment to moment, day by day, 24/7. Perhaps the greatest learning of all is to remember that we are at the very core of our being all of the qualities of the Universe from which we can and of which we are a vital part.

•         We are beauty. Learn to BE that beauty.
•         We are harmony. Learn to BE that harmony.
•         We are abundance. Learn to BE that abundance.
•         We are peace. Learn to BE that peace.
•         We are power. Learn to BE that power.
•         We are joy. Learn to BE that joy.
•         We are light. Learn to BE that intelligence.
•         We are life. Learn to BE that life.
•         We are love. Learn to be that love.

I found beauty in unexpected places because I was making the choice to see beauty in those places. I was reminded to remember my Source and to choose THAT as my expression in the world.

Love on the Road!

And, I discovered that the qualities of Source (or the Universe, if you prefer) are inseparable from one another. Where I found beauty I found each of the others.  No matter which is the focus or the lead, when I found beauty, love, peace, joy and the others easily followed. Then, just beyond I found the gift of gratitude.

So, while some conspire to conquer and control others, the loving Universe seems to have a conspiracy of its own: granting us the opportunity and privilege to learn along with the power to make that choice.

While our individual choices may separate us from the pack, choosing to learn offers something the pack can never offer: strengthening awareness of our connection to the Source from which we came and of which we are forever a part. That learning becomes wisdom to carry with us into the great beyond. 

Last week I conspired with beauty to take the lead. This week, I’m choosing joy. What about you?

Elephant in the Woods (can you find it?)

An Atmosphere of Well-Being

It may still be winter, but the spring flow has begun!

I am what I am what I am, and I cannot do any better than that. (Gregge Tiffen – The Journey Continues: Communication with the Living – February, 2010)

We are what we are and we’re creating what we are going to be. (Patrece – undated personal communication)*

In this world where well-being seems pushed aside in favor of an agenda founded on divisiveness, fear, and use of force, I’m noticing that maintaining an attitude of well-being requires consistent awareness and adjustment.  While we are at choice about how and how much of the world we allow into our space and awareness, we are still IN this world.

As I noticed myself leaning toward overwhelm and despair (not atmospheres of well-being and not ones I would pick from the shelf at the atmosphere store), I went in search of knowledge and wisdom from others to apply in these times.

A personal communication from Patrece (www.p-systemsinc.com) from some years back (likely when I was in some other of life’s funks) reminded me that I only need “a speck of inspiration” which I can then expand upon. Of course the corollary is also true, and today there seems to be much negative that I definitely don’t want to expand upon. Indeed, I want to maintain a personal atmosphere to counter that.

Let me find positive specks of yeast to braid with the dough of life. Let THAT rise. Tapping into Universal wisdom with awareness and intention is a place to start, and Gregge Tiffen’s enumeration of the nine characteristics of the Universe provided my next ingredient. Those characteristics are:  Harmony, Peace, Beauty, Joy, Power, Life, Love, Abundance, Light (or Intelligence).

In the booklet quoted above, Gregge writes about these characteristics that “… you can apply any single one of them in totality, and the other eight will automatically be included.” Wow!  What, I wonder, might unfold if a speck of beauty was expanded and applied in its totality? What indeed does ‘in totality’ encompass?

I'm blessed to live surrounded by nature's beauty, a reminder of the beauty in all.

The possibilities seem worthy of experimentation. Aiming to focus on the beauty in everything (and every one!) seems as though it maintain the atmosphere of well-being that I know is so important for me in what seems to be a chaotic and divisive time. Might I even find beauty in the chaos that is so ugly on its surface? 

And so I begin a quest to discover and name the beauty that is in my world every day. My intention is that no thing and no one be excluded on this path.  I neither expect nor put pressure on myself to be perfect in this endeavor. I am, after all, experimenting. Who will join me on this journey?

As I begin, I’m reminded of Ray Stevens’ song Everything is Beautiful which seems a good theme song for the journey (hear it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a45z_HG3WU

*Patrece writes on behalf of P Systems, an independent 501(c-3) non-profit corporation she established in 1983. You can find her work and publications at www.p-systemsinc.com.

Mr. Handsome, beauty of the canine kind

Resistance With LOVE!

As the snow melts, the gentle flow of Cottonwood Creek comes to the surface.

Love is long suffering and kind. Suffering does not mean endurance but rather the willingness to permit and allow the kind of person someone is. Love recognizes individuality and respects individual freedom. If I love who I am, then my love for you will include the tolerance to let you be yourself without censure or critique.  Gregge Tiffen (The Numerology of Love – February, 2007)

When fear is used to control us, love is how we rebel. Rivera Sun (The Dandelion Insurrection - http://www.riverasun.com/)

Love is the most potent, powerful force on the planet. It is a characteristic of the Universe. Love’s power can guide us to create a world of peace and plenty. And, as history shows us, love misplaced or misunderstood, begets fear, fighting and scarcity.

In forgetting that we are each created as unique individuals with our own characteristics, strengths, foibles and lessons to learn, what have we lost in terms of awareness of the individual contribution we are each here to make? Have we forgotten that EVERY ONE has THEIR story? That we are all different and we are all the same?  Even, especially perhaps, those with whom we disagree.

Across the ages, right up to this very moment our ignorance has led us to fear the ‘other’ and to engage in cruelties beyond my comprehension. And yet, in quiet, reflective moments I wonder ‘is there a line, some circumstance or event that would provoke me to physical violence?’ I pray that the answer is ‘no’, but I know that I am capable of thinking and speaking harsh words and that I can suddenly find myself in a stream of consciousness that is far afield from recognizing and respecting the individuality of those with whom I disagree. That is especially so when their decisions appear to have the ability to impact my choices, my lifestyle. I noticed that a sort of ‘how dare they …’ attitude is often what spurs me to act. 

Recognizing that this attitude is grounded, not in love, but in fear, led me to begin to explore how to pour love into the acts of resistance I choose to take. After all, why pour gasoline – acting out of fear – on a fire that is already raging? 

I hit the ‘pause’ button on taking action and realized that before joining the crowd in reacting to the latest outrage (of which there are plenty), I need to tend to my heart. It’s important to connect with what I am FOR even as I speak out against those things with which I disagree. What I am FOR is, I believe, grounded in love – justice, human rights, free speech (indeed freedom in all its forms!).  I’m aiming to engage from love.

Whether I’m signing a petition, writing a letter or email, or making a call I’m aiming to take time to infuse it with love. Love that “recognizes individuality and respects individual freedom”. Love that speaks what is true for me in the moment and, hopefully, opens the door for the other to consider. Love that opens me to other points of view – deeply, honestly.

I don’t know all the ways to make this shift, but I’m up for the learning. Whether you’re actively engaged in either ‘side’ of the current political divide or simply observing, I invite you to join me in exploring and experimenting how to pour love into your action.

One by one, let us deepen our love of self so that we can pour love into all that we do.

Give yourself a little treat and enjoy “All You Need Is Love” The Beatles:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsxtImDVMig

Sunrise lights up the San Juan Mountains across the valley.

Practicing Gentleness

Winter Icicles, Shadows, and More

The Universe loves you enough to agree to your request to be here now.  Gregge Tiffen (Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008)

Sadly, the world is not a gentle place. It seems more extreme, more violent, more ‘in your face’ than ever in my lifetime.  The pace of change in the world’s systems and its rules seems to be at warp speed. We are a nation and a world divided by these rules, who they serve, who they seem to punish. We aren’t gentle with one another or even with ourselves.

And, in the ever abundant, loving, infinite Universe, this world offers us vast opportunities for learning and growth.   I’ve been reflecting on that as I observe events triggered by political ‘leaders’ and how these events land in my experience.

I’ve come to the conclusion (duh!) that it is an important time for personal stability and clarity so that we aren’t caught up in the spin and we don’t become victims of what’s happening ‘out there’.  Yes, we are IN this world. No, we are not OF it unless we allow ourselves to be entrapped in its energy.  And, boy does the world want to entrap us as a means of control? Yes, I think so.  I’m reminding myself of these things frequently, so (spoiler alert), it’s likely to be repeated often in these weekly musings.

This week, my path to that stability is practicing gentleness although, interestingly, I didn’t start with that as my intention.  To the contrary, my plan for the week was to be a disciplined task master and ‘get things done’. 

I discovered gentleness along the way, when something happened on the way to the ‘to do’ list: a question from my coach – “What are your priorities?” Rather than trying to ‘figure that out’, I sharpened my self-observation and noticed what my daily choices were telling me.  I noticed that self-care, Luke-care, and my home environment are what matter most to me right now. 

 From that awareness, I allowed myself to experiment with different choices:

•      longer, slower walks with Luke;
•     taking more time to prepare and savor nourishing food;
•      engaging in household tasks with joy and appreciation for my home;
•      not rushing from one thing on the ‘to do’ list to the next
•     and, more importantly, not feeling guilty about my slower pace;
•       taking time to rest and read during the day;
•       reading news sources rather than listening to them.

Yea Mom!  We haven't been on this trail in a long time. Thanks!!!

That’s when I began to experience gentleness from within. Yes, business matters. Yes, political involvement matters. Heck, even the projects on the ‘to do’ list matter. And, their place is not at the front of the line.  They will have their time there when it’s time. That time is not now.

Now is the time for stability, clarity and gentleness to counter what the world is dishing out.  That is the foundation on which I can stand and a place where I can breathe easily with conviction and courage as the world’s craziness swirls just beyond.

This week I invite you to reflect, explore, experiment, and find your gentleness within. Bring it forth to stand confidently IN the world.  Your gentleness matters, as do you!

A Sky Reminder of LOVE!