Racks & Rain: Power from Source

Rain and Runoff - The Power of Flow

The sun once glimpsed God’s true nature

And has never been the same.

Thus that radiant sphere

Constantly pours its energy

Upon this earth

As does He from behind

The veil.

Hafiz (from Why Aren’t We Screaming Drunks?)

 Zadie Byrd and I headed out quite early this morning for our walk. Before the sun rose over the peaks and its rays beamed light and created the beauty of shadow in the woods out back. The air was crisp, cool, and fresh after a (thankfully brief) shower last night. We’ve been blessed with an abundance of rain over the last week and experienced the impact of minor flooding.

That abundance and starting installation of a solar array, focused my attention and awareness on the power that emanates from Source. This power manifests in many ways and forms, all elements of the natural world of which we humans are a part: fires, floods, earthquakes, pandemics, melting polar ice caps and more.

Such events touch millions personally, often uprooting life as it they knew it only moments before. Events of the natural world likewise support our existence in ways that we often overlook or even have forgotten. Just as our consciousness impacts nature, these events impact each and everyone of us collectively as well. And they do so in every aspect of our lives. If it has shown us nothing else, the pandemic continues to demonstrate that.

I wonder what we have learned about ourselves from Covid-19 and other extreme events? Individually? Collectively? I wonder what we might learn if we ask different questions rather than racing back to a ‘normal’ that doesn’t and won’t exist? I think about such learning wondering how we might apply it more wisely to create a better world for ourselves and especially for our children, grandchildren, and generations (hopefully) to come as the world as we’ve known it falls away.

These are the questions that came to mind this week as I witnessed the power of flowing water in front of and behind the Dragonfly House as heavy rain fell for several hours here in the Sangres cresting rock dams put in place on the property many years ago for just such events.

Similar questions guided my decision to install a solar system. I was excited to observe the work and care as racks for the solar panels were installed on the roof yesterday.

The preparation over a few months and the work involved remind me that while the power of Source is always present, tapping in requires conscious choice, commitment, and investing time, money, and guiding energy all along the way.  As I learn more about the components of the system, I see each of them and the solar system itself as a reminder to maintain awareness and consciously choose how I use the power of the Source to which I am and forever will be connected. Solar system as metaphor for our connection to Source. Solar array or not, we each make this choice moment to moment, day by day throughout life. What’s your choice?

Racks on the Roof - My Journey to Solar Power Begins

Pivot to Invest in People and the Planet

Sunset in the Woods Out Back

Your vision will become clear only when you look inside your own heart. … Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. Carl Jung

What is your vision for our world? For humanity? For the planet on whose health we depend? Do you envision a world of peace? Of prosperity? Of social and economic justice? Do you envision, as I do, humanity learning to thrive in cooperation with one another and with Mother Earth? This is the future I want for my grandchildren, indeed for ALL the children around the globe and for future generations.

I found Jung’s familiar quote in a wonderful little book of large ideas and possibilities, Integrating Money and Meaning by Maggie Kulyk, a theologian turned financial advisor (https://chicorywealth.com/). She tells the story of a pivotal question asked by her 11-year-old daughter as she was researching possible stock trades to “make a little extra money”. Maggie recall her daughter wondering “if it bothered me that the way I was making money had no meaningful social purpose”.

The youngster’s awareness and questioning reminded me of a question my young stepson asked me once: “if you’re so interested in being healthy, how come you smoke?”. Wisdom often cuts to the core and James Michael’s question invited me to acknowledge that my choice to smoke was not in alignment with valuing my health. (I quit sometime soon thereafter.)

The wisdom of youth often sees those places where our choices, our words, our actions are not aligned with what we say that we believe and what we want for ourselves and our world. Bless them for their voices. When we are willing to look inside, question ourselves with courage, and listen, we are likely to hear an inner voice that, like the children, points us to opportunities for realignment. May we hear and consider the wisdom of both.

Doing so in the financial arena has been an area of interest for a long while. Over a year ago, I began to ask the question: how can I do greater good with the money in my IRAs while also growing and protecting it for my later years? My small nest egg had been invested in ‘socially responsible’ funds for years, but I was curious: what else is possible?

What about you? Are you willing to ask: What is my money doing in the world? What are my investments contributing to? What are the practices of the companies I invest in? Is my money in alignment with my values? What adjustments am I willing and able to make?

In asking such questions, I’ve discovered a number of resources and possibilities that I want to share this week in celebration of Earth Day:

• Watch the story of Marco Vangelisti’s journey from investment banking to a commitment to “aware and no harm investing” (https://ek4t.com/marco-vangelisti/). If this theme resonates and you want to learn and act on more, I highly recommend Marco’s website resources and his classes.

• Wake yourself up to the cost of investing solely for the sake of wealth accumulation and see how RSF Financial supports community building  (https://moneytransforms.com/).

• What about investing in underserved communities to create an economy that works better for all: (https://www.mycnote.com/). [Small Print/Disclamer:  I’m providing these resources for you to check out and, if interested, do your own due diligence.]

Humanity is at a pivotal point. Examining our money, including why and where we invest, and our values can lead us to make personal pivots that are not only good for us, but also for our communities and the planet.

A Place for Going Within - Labyrinth in the Woods Out Back

Always We Have Choice

Underneath a Nurturing Ancestor Pine

You’re always in a position to decide if you want to have any reaction to what’s going on.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: An Air of Optimism)

This is one of my favorites of Gregge’s quotes. Forgetting that we have choice is a giant generator of pain and stress especially in a world that takes every opportunity to suggest that we aren’t at choice about so much.

Years back when I was in the middle of divorce, I was ordered to allow my soon to be ex to read my journals, where I muse and bear my soul almost daily.  I felt invaded and as if I had no choice. I was gently reminded by my coach at the time that indeed I did have a choice. For example, I could choose to defy the order.

She was right. I could defy the order. What? In that moment, I understood that I simply wasn’t willing to face the consequences of doing do. But I did have a choice. That awareness has served me well. It was a pivot point in coming to understand and accept that there are always choices, even in the darkest times when I can’t see them.

Choice has been on my mind this week as I continue the process of executing my cousin’s last wishes and navigating the legal hoops of settling her estate. Along the way someone suggested that I didn’t have a choice about coming up here since I was named as her Personal Representative.

I don’t agree with their suggestion. I chose to come. It was a responsibility I accepted years ago. I chose to honor it to come and do the job at hand.

Not only was I at choice about making the trip, how long to stay, and other logistical decisions, daily I get to choose how I want to be in the process. I’m aware that I could choose to take on the tasks with an attitude of burden and resentment. I do not do so. Why would I choose misery when given the opportunity to serve in this way?

While I experience waves of sadness that my ‘cuz’ and I won’t share another hike in nature or glass of wine or holiday fun, I bring curiosity, appreciation and gratitude into most every day’s ‘to do’ list. I find joy in early morning walks with Zadie Byrd as she explores the different environment and relishes green grass to roll in.

This morning she led me to a giant pine in the park nearby. As I stood beneath the towering branches and allowed nature to enfold and nurture me, she sniffed to discover just who else had been in the area.

The sense of community here is palpable with her friends checking in, bringing food, and offering to help all manner of tasks. In choosing acceptance of the events and the environment, I am blessed by abundance in many forms. I’m clear I could choose differently and create a very different experience. But, so far, the choices I’m making are working out just fine.

Taking a Break for a Hike Along the Snake River

What's In Front of You

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

For a couple days I’ve thought about taking a vacation from these weekly posts. This morning I pulled out one of Gregge Tiffen’s booklets, Do the Angels Take a Vacation?, thinking I might find a pithy quote supporting that choice. Of course, the angels, the etheric, the unseen worlds operate 24/7/365. So, where I was led instead was to a different booklet.

The quote above immediately jumped off the page and into the muse. I had an awareness of my commitment to showing up each week to discover what wants to be shared. THAT’s what is in front of me on Wednesday morning each week.

Yes, I could use the family matter that is the focus of most of my attention these days as a reason to take a break. But as I let that choice try to settle in my bones, that ‘reason’ felt more like a cop-out, an excuse. Not that I was laying a guilty ‘should’ at my feet,  taking a break was a choice that would not bring me any sense of satisfaction.  I would miss the connection that I feel when I tap the ‘send’ button.

As I realized this and shifted my choice, my spirit lightened. I didn’t need to choose ‘this’ OR ‘that’. Both are possible and when the post is complete, I can easily put the other matter right back in front of me without a sense of pressure or overwhelm. Whew!

What’s in front of me is what’s in front of me and I am at choice about the quality and the quantity of attention whatever that is receives.

There is much in front of each of us these days. Some of it very close and personal. Some a broader focus of our care and concern for humanity and the planet.

While we may not choose the details of the event before us, ever present is the choice of how we walk through each event and how we use them to contribute to our personal growth and expansion in a world that needs our unique piece of the puzzle in order for it to unfold.

So, what IS in front of you right now? How will you use it for you?

Sign of the Times

Instead of Fear ... LOVE

Oh that all choices could be so light!

Whether you like it or not, you are the end result of everything you have ever experienced up until this very moment. What you are is what you have learned. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: Near Life Experiences – March, 2010)

When fear is used to control us, love is how we rebel. … Be kind. Be connected. Be unafraid. Rivera Sun (The Dandelion Insurrection)

Perhaps it was my own attention, but somehow the coronavirus pandemic seemed top of mind for many emails I received and posts that popped up on my Facebook timeline yesterday.

While most was positive, informative and helpful, one post in particular resonated with me for its sincere, yet light-hearted reminder that we are at choice in everything we do, including how we respond to this current event. “Let’s play a game,” the post began (I was hooked at the word ‘play’!). “It’s called the ‘Instead of’ game. It works like this. During this COVID-19 pandemic, instead of …”. My friend, author/activist Rivera Sun continued with her list of choices: “… grocery shopping for my faves, I’m going to dig into my back stock. (Instead of) going to social events, I’m going to journal and do some inner work. …”

I love this idea for its light and creative approach to a serious issue which we each must address in our own ways. For me, lightness always seems to ease the burden. The game is a reminder that I am at choice in EVERYthing I do.

My reply comment began “Instead of starting my own list, I’m going to use yours and build from there.” Hey, I need not ‘reinvent the wheel’. I continued, “instead of fretting, I’m going to walk the labyrinth and go on longer walks in the woods with Zadie Byrd.” I’m adding to that list as choices present themselves or as I find myself taking a turn toward fear.

It's a great game, a way to be present to the choices I need to make for me. Playing in this way lightened a decision I’d made to suspend my participation in a weekly Feldenkrais class with several other folks, and it reminded me that either love or fear rest at the root of our choices.

Gregge’s quote reminded me that in every moment we are learning, adding to the storehouse of knowledge in our consciousness. At the same time, we have all the knowledge and wisdom that we’ve experienced and accumulated throughout time. We are who we’ve become through those experiences.

In the face of crises we make choices about how to respond. We learn from those choices. As the world faces the pandemic and other disruptive events, how will we each respond? How can we respond from a place of love not fear?

Was my decision to not go to the class based in fear? It certainly could be. I thought of it more as ‘acting from an abundance of caution’, and I realized that it was about more than protecting myself, but also out of care for my classmates.

It’s possible that love and fear can make the same choice. But the energy behind those choices draws us to very different directions. Choosing not to participate from a root of love, opens me to care and curiosity about what’s possible ‘instead of’ attending. Acting on that I found an online resource of recorded practices to guide me. Making the same choice from fear would likely have led me down the path of anger at ‘having to’ miss the practice.

In the end, the organizer decided to cancel our group for now. Having already made my choice, I’m able to embrace her decision with appreciation as one made from love and care.

Instead of fear, I embrace love, reason and creativity. I’m curious to practice using what I know. And, I wonder what my learning is as I navigate this phase of life experience.

I’m definitely ‘in’ the ‘Instead of’ game What about you? Will you play too?

Zadie Byrd’s first hike to the Ziggurat

All Hallow's Eve: 2019 Edition

Grass cradles the season’s first snowfall

Life is an enormous power to be understood and used as energy. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Ancient Rituals – October, 2011)

Winter weather arrived with a flourish here in the Sangres yesterday. Several inches of snow fell (but not nearly as much as other parts of Colorado) and the temperature this morning fell to 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit. With a warming fire in the wood stove, I sense the time of turning more deeply inside fast approaching.

I wonder: what will be the dance between action, inter-action with the world and the quiet reflection that winter's darkness inspires in me? The time and my spirit long for each in their right and perfect balance. Of course, I can't know what that balance is without experimenting and observing. Too much quiet alone time? Adjust. Act. Interact. Too much activity? Stop.

That is the dance of winter. Indeed the dance of life. Living well is, after all, the most important task that lies before each and every one of us. (Gregge Tiffen – Life in the World Hereafter – The Journey Continues). Thought by thought, choice by choice, step by step we navigate life, defining, redefining, adjusting to live well whatever that means to us in this moment. We learn that the next moment will be different. We adjust or we strive for sameness. That is how we learn or how or how our spirit dies the slow the death of stagnation.

Recognizing the time of year upon us shifts my thoughts to rituals, particularly ancient ones. Once again, I’ve caught my falling leaf for luck (more about that ritual here - http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/catch-a-falling-leaf). On my walk yesterday, I missed Luke's physical presence. Oh how he loved to romp in the snow! That awareness turned my attention to rituals celebrating the connection between the incarnate and discarnate sides of life on our planet and those who have made the transition from their earthly incarnate form to a different format.

Not surprising. After all, it's Halloween. All Hallows’ Eve (http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/all-hallows-eve) was celebrated long before churches existed, and despite religious institutions’ objections, Day of the Dead continues to be celebrated in many forms worldwide. The 2017 award winning animated film Coco beautifully depicts the celebration and family conflicts about it in Mexico. The song ‘Remember Me’ is one of my favorites (you can hear it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iDxU9eNQ_0)

Coco and ‘Remember Me’ are reminders of Gregge Tiffen’s teaching that “Each of us is a living spirit. … When you’re dead, you’re not dead. You are very much alive.” In his informative, fun booklet Ancient Rituals Tiffen encourages us to take time to remember those who are no longer with us in their incarnate form and to know that “they are attached to the planet in a discarnate format.” In a world so fearful of death, the knowledge that I’m simply using this form, this body temporarily reminds me that each of us - you, me, and EVERY-one - is but a tiny drop in an infinite universe. And that each drop lives forever.

I find it helpful to remember and honor the connection of close family and friends who have made their transition to the discarnate. Tonight, I plan to do just that. Gregge suggests candles, fresh flowers, perhaps something symbolic of your connection, along with quiet time to reflect. He continues, “You’re meant to feel very comfortable about participating with the use of things that are special to you as a way to be in touch with life as you know it and death as you conjure it up to be in your mind, or as you know it from your own experience. Don’t be reluctant to participate.”

While Gregge puts his attention on the humans who have left us, I'll include Cool Hand Luke, who though absent in physical form, is ever present in spirit. And, as I sometimes do, perhaps I'll pour a shot of bourbon for Marge, my beloved mom who left this life 40 years ago.

What about you? Will you take time remember and connect at this sacred time when the veil between this plane and the discarnate invites us to explore and discover the journey that continues?

A snowy days years back.

Participant AND Observer: YOU!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

When you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, you are in some kind of an event. Every one of those events produces some kind of information in bits and pieces. It is to your advantage to become an observer and a participant. At first that is a real juggling act, but you will find the wisdom you search for as you practice participating and observing. … To willingly accept living in the world with the energy expended and the returns received is very important. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: In Search of Wisdom  – September, 2010)

We live in search of wisdom. Yep. The purpose of life is this: adding to and building upon the wisdom that we brought into this life in this body at this time. There you have it. Now you can breathe. The mystery of all mysteries is solved. No more searching for the purpose of life. Whew!

Yet, within that mystery of mysteries, are the questions that rise on our unique and individual quest: WHAT am I here to learn? HOW will I learn it?  At the same time we explore these questions, the body’s survival depends on our participation in life – money, careers/jobs, relationships, home, health, mobility, community, recreation, creative outlets, etc.  And, our body couldn’t care less about wisdom (learning is not its job – survival is!).  

The body’s job is to participate in these activities of life. It does so, mostly willingly, when we feed it, rest it, and give our body the care that it needs. The body is like a car – it requires fuel and needs its systems to be well maintained so that it can function properly.

Your body is the vehicle consciousness uses to get you around town from one event to another.

Gregge Tiffen

And, that takes us to engaging consciousness, as the observer. Knowledge, learning and the wisdom that’s distilled from our participation requires that we observe as well as participate. The awareness that comes from observation supports us to adjust, adapt, and learn. We carry that learning forward as we’re guided to the next event.

When we participate rotely, without observation and awareness, we don’t learn. We may even put ourselves and others at risk. Who among us hasn’t suddenly found ourselves at our destination and not remembered stopping at the stop signs along the way? Yet that very awareness is an act of observing (and hopefully a reminder to be more mindful of our drive next time).

As the participant in an event, we engage in ‘doing’ the event. As the observer, we bring awareness and our ‘being’ to that event. With practice we can expand our capacity to observe concurrent with participating. Call it awareness, mindfulness – whatever you choose – it is through observation that we learn. And our learning puts us at choice.  

Sometimes it’s simple: I observe that I’m not enjoying or benefiting from an event. I draw that conclusion from observing that noticing some form of physical discomfort or that I’m antsy or not paying attention, etc. From that awareness, I can choose whether or not to continue, and perhaps shift my perspective. Absent observation, I complete the event, end up in a cranky mood or exhausted, and wonder why I feel so bad.

From participating in and observing our experiences we learn, we adapt, we grow. Wisdom from the knowledge gained in the events and experiences of life is what we are here to attain. It is all we take with us when we leave this vehicle behind, continue our journey in the unseen realm, and carry with us wherever we go into infinity and beyond. What could be a more awesome return on your energy investment than THAT? 

What will you practice observing as you participate this week?

First hints of fall - the leaves they are a changing on this hazy fall morning.

The Will to Choose

Early morning moon over the San Luis Valley

… will is developed out of the analytical process through which you begin to understand what you want to do with your consciousness at any given point in your experience. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Awareness – July, 2009)

Will I or will I not? Do I want to? Or, not? Such is the seesaw I’ve ridden this week over what I assess should be a simple decision.

I’ve made far bigger and seemingly more consequential decisions in my life with much less vacillation and much more clarity. What was stopping me? Or better asked: how was I stopping myself?

In the back and forth of my pros and cons, I’d missed a step, an important, perhaps the important question: What do I want to do with my consciousness?  Above and beyond ‘do I want to?’ ‘do I need to?’ ‘what is the cost?’ questions, I wasn’t analyzing the choice from the perspective of my consciousness, the potential to learn and grow.

I wasn’t considering the bigger picture of flow and opportunity that is ongoing in the pure nature of consciousness. I’d forgotten to apply a fundamental truth: consciousness doesn’t discern right or wrong in our choices, it only moves to the next sequential step.

When I framed the decision in terms of how I wanted to engage my consciousness, I began to feel a shift, lightness, accompanied by a willingness to look more deeply. I had a sense of opportunity and possibility. After steering myself away from attaching to a particular outcome, I took a deeper dive. I wanted to know what was in the way of making this choice, of exercising my will and moving on, letting the chips fall where they may whatever my decision.

On that dive I found a couple of related emotions: fear and sadness. I feared that what I might discover by participating would evoke sadness. At the same time, I feared that if I didn’t participate, I would miss an opportunity to discover something new about myself, about life. Or worse, that I would put myself out of sync with the flow of energy.

I was clear that saying ‘yes’ was the path I wanted to choose, but I hesitated … not vacillating all the way back to ‘no’ but honoring a niggle of doubt that wanted to be heard. Another dive revealed that I wanted a guarantee about the outcome. What? That one again! I thought THAT was conquered. Where have you gone curiosity? Re-enter please!

And, so my answer is YES!  I’m trusting that my indecision was just a part of the path to evoking divine timing and not a delay that upsets an unfolding cycle.  Consciousness and will exercised and engaged. Curiosity restored. Onward!

Cool Hand Luke loves being out early as the sun peeks over the peaks!

The Gift of Retrograde Planets

On the trail out back as the sun peeks over the peaks

The need for adjustments within our personal life cycles exists for the same reason that galaxies are kept from bumping into one another; both are a consequence of some extremely intelligent avatars somewhere in space having created and continuing to create planet Earth within the whole scheme of the harmonic flow of energy often heard in the music of the spheres. (Patrece on behalf of P Systems – www.p-systemsinc.com)

The more we are aware of retrograde conditions and their possible influences, the more we are able to navigate through our life experiences with greater control and clarity. (Gregge Tiffen - https://www.g-systems.com/)

First, a disclaimer: I’m no expert in astrology. What I’m sharing comes not from decades of studying the planets and their influence. Rather it comes from considering what Patrece and Gregge Tiffen have shared on this topic and from observing my own life’s conditions and events. It also comes from my conviction that, despite so much evidence to the contrary, we live in a universe that is divinely ordered and anchored in love, a universe in which we are not victims unless we choose not to receive the gifts the universe offers.

What inspires me to share is that the planet Mercury went retrograde earlier this week as it does several times each year. It reminded me of the prevailing attitude when planets go retrograde: life is disrupted, ‘bad’ things happen, and that we just need to suffer through. Such an attitude casts us as victims, putting attention on the disruption and ignoring the opportunities planets in retrograde offer: gifts from a benevolent universe.

Planets do not go retrograde without purpose. Their doing helps maintain order in the cosmos, ensuring the universal “harmonic flow of energy”. Adjustments are required. Planets adjust.

As above, so below. As a part of this intelligent universe, we are given the opportunity to use the cycle of time when a planet is retrograde to do the same: adjust. Taking time to assess and to make changes during these cycles can help us avoid bumping into ourselves, one another, and the events life brings our way. (Imagine a world where we each did that, including our leaders!)

When it went retrograde this week, Mercury joined four other planets that were already in retrograde. Yes, your math is correct: five planets are currently in retrograde. Perhaps you’ve wondered why the world (and maybe your life) seems crazier and disrupted to the extreme.  Rather than looking at the chaos, I’m choosing to look to the opportunities to slow down and consider what adjustments might serve me.

Mercury (Ruler #2*) is the planet that influences decision making and communication, including all of the technology we use in both. In retrograde it presents opportunities (indeed more than one!) to slow down and pay close attention to detail in all communication, that coming in and that we’re sending out. (I’m doing my best to practice this message as I focus on this post.) This is also a time to identify and make adjustments to communication habits or patterns that aren’t working well, to examine how you manage time and energy, to assess projects underway and adjust to get/keep them on track. Notice what puts you on edge as a guide to where adjustments are needed. Mercury’s retrograde is short – ending on July 31 – but it’s potential is powerful.

Saturn (Ruler #7) retrograde invites us to look at how we use our minds. This is a good time to observe and eliminate clutter in our thought processes and to bring forward mental qualities that may be dormant. Exercise your mind and explore what keeps you from manifesting the results you’d like and refine your operating style. This retrograde ends on September 19.

Pluto (Ruler #8) influences money and success. When in retrograde it invites us to review and make sure our financial house is in order. A key question to ask is ‘what needs to be reworked to put myself on a more solid financial footing?’ This opportunity exists until October 4.

Jupiter (Ruler #6) retrograde provides opportunities to look at health and relationships, including your relationship with you, and to explore how your home environment supports you (or doesn’t). Jupiter ends its retrograde cycle on August 10.

Finally, the influence of Neptune (Ruler #9) retrograde is mostly beneath the surface, offering the opportunity to look deep within to what inspires us and what gives life meaning. It’s a time when deep reflection and solitude can serve us well. We have this opportunity until November 27.

How will you unwrap, receive, and put the gifts of these retrogrades to use? Start by slowing down, paying attention, and being curious.

* Gregge used a numbering system rather than the customary planet names in his work, as you’ll see if you visit his website for more detail on these retrogrades. Here’s the link: https://www.g-systems.com/wordpress/?cat=9

Cool Hand Luke pauses for a photo op on an early morning hike to the Zigurat

The Grace of the Universe - A Rerun

Looking Ahead Through the Portal

This week I’ve been reflecting on change and how I respond to events that life presents, especially events which I didn’t see coming and that present challenges.  Those reflections led me back to the basics of life and law (Universal law that is) and to what is important each day:  choosing how I want to be present and how I want to respond to life.  Employing the law of magnification supports me to remember the importance of my choices and, hopefully, to choose wisely moment to moment, day to day.  May this rerun bring light to your day!

You live by the grace of the Universe interacting with you. You do not live by yourself alone. … The Universe always magnifies your action. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Change – May, 2009)

There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness. Dalai Lama

The grace of the Universe presents the challenge of our times. May we rise to meet it in kind.

Whether we are aware of it or not, the Universe is interacting with us 24/7, magnifying each and every action we take in its own way.

Think about that. Let it sink in for just a moment. Everything you do is magnified. EVERY THING!

Say a kind word, offer a smile to someone experiencing challenging times, listen deeply to another view, share an uplifting post on social media. MAGNIFIED!  Take action on a project; choose to eat healthy, nourishing food; call or write your elected representatives. MAGNIFIED!

The Universe is benevolent (at least that’s my belief), but it is not selective in what it magnifies (everything – remember?). We humans were given the gift of free will, the power of choice that the Universe did not keep for itself in this grand design called Life. Make a snarky remark. MAGNIFIED!  Engage in an act of violence. MAGNIFIED!  Protest in anger toward others. MAGNIFIED!  Shut down in fear. MAGNIFIED! 

I’ve been reflecting on this law of magnification in terms of what I want more of in my life as well as the kind of world that I’d prefer to live in.  That reflection brought me right back to where I live, the simple choices I make each day. If I want to be a writer, WRITE. Give the Universe words strung together into ideas and step back to allow the magnification. Know that magnification is happening even when I don’t see it. I’m making adjustments in how I create each day to do just that.

If the world I envision is one of peace, kindness, compassion then my responsibility is to choose thoughts, words, and deeds that are peaceful, kind, and compassionate. Give the Universe THAT to magnify.

Of course, the Universe does not magnify alone.  We are its agents, little magnifiers one and all. My words each week are a magnification of something I read, experienced (usually both!), or am in the midst of considering. You read those words and are inspired to make a change in your life, or to share the post with others, or to delete. Whatever your choice, your action magnifies mine and it offers your own to be magnified.  

The meadowlark sings its cheerful song each morning in the meadow where we walk. The president tweets. Both are magnified by a Universe that magnifies everything. But we, you and I, have the freedom and the power to choose what we magnify. Imagine a world where the meadowlark’s song or the Dalai Lama’s quote is the ‘breaking news’ of the day, and the president’s tweets go mostly ignored. Do the words peaceful, kind, compassionate come to your mind’s eye?

That world is possible if we have the will to choose to put our attention on peace over conflict, kindness over anger, and compassion over judgement. It’s already emerging daily in the thousands (perhaps millions) of thoughts, words and deeds that are peace-filled, kind, and caring. May we choose that path – moment to moment, when the choice is easy and, especially when it’s not.The grace of the Universe presents the challenge of our times. May we rise to meet it in kind.

The River of Life often flows like the spring snow melt on Cottonwood Creek …