The Twinkling of An Eye

Solstice 2016 - The Light is Returning

The gift you give yourself is to be open and to make space for acceptance. Gregge Tiffen (The Winter Solstice: Giving To Yourself, December, 2007)

‘Twas blog day before Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and more

And, all through the house

I’m the only one stirring

There best be no mouse.

Luke is asleeping

And right at my feet.

What is today’s message?

Let’s be short and sweet!

It came without clatter

Of hooves on the roof

A friendly reminder

That needs no proof.

Amidst the hustle and bustle

You may find yourself in

Take time for yourself

Time to go within.

For in the season of giving

We often forget

The importance of receiving

But, please do not fret.

A few minutes at most

With a hot cup of tea

Will serve to remind you

About receptivity.

For giver and gift

Need YOU to receive

That is the cycle

So, please do believe.

Take this reminder

Wherever you go

With a twinkle in your eyes

Like the Santa you know. 

Snow Dusted Dunes - Solstice, 2016

Emptiness At Solstice

Magical, Mystical, Pre-dawn Moon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Magical, Mystical Moon at Sunrise

'Tis The Season To Nourish Your Inner Santa

The sun sets on another day in the vast San Luis Valley.

Santa is the outgrowth of the natural child in humanity’s mind that bears good tidings.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Sacred Passageways – December, 2011)

First a Confession:  I love Santa! And, I BELIEVE!  After all, there's a certain canine who consistently brings good tidings to my life. 

Just who is the jolly fellow that we remember this time of year? Most every culture, religious or not, has such a sacred icon.  Yet in the hustle, bustle and hyper-commercialism of this season, one can lose sight of just what Santa Claus represents. That is to our detriment individually and collectively.

One of my personal early season rituals as I bring out the lights and a small, festive tree that’s travelled with me for 10 years is to bring out Gregge Tiffen’s writings about the season. I like to start with Santa as I did as a child sitting on his lap early in the season.  Today, I do so as a point of reflection and a reminder of what the jolly ol’ soul represents. And that provides just the reminder I need to nourish my own inner Santa.

Through Gregge’s mystical eyes, Santa represents faith. Not faith in things or people outside of us, but faith within.  And, in these times, that faith needs nourishment more than ever.  We need to nurture and nourish our innate ability to know what is right for us moment to moment, choice to choice and to trust that what is, simply is and is unfolding as it should.

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

As I have written before, we live in a world that at every turn gives us choices to pull us away from who we truly are.  The world fears our power, and it invites us to put our faith in systems, institutions and even other people.

Turn down those invitations of the world that are not true to who YOU are.  RSVP to yourself. Take time during this season and beyond to recognize that YOU as a point in an infinite and benevolent Universe need only have faith in you and that Universe of which you are an integral part.

To whatever it might mean to you, in reality or symbolically, give yourself a period of time as a gift to yourself in which your faith is renewed. This gift is not faith in others or in the world around you but in yourself as the continuum of good operating in your life at all times under all circumstances.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Sacred Passageways – December, 2011)

This is the greatest gift of all.

It’s the faith that you are what you are that brings about miracles. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Sacred Passageways – December, 2011)

Spending time in nature’s beauty, singing, quiet time by the fire, laughing, and putting on a fun hat are some of the ways I renew my inner Santa. What about you?

Blanca Peak shows off her winter finery on a crisp sunny date in the Sangres.

What Is The Question?

It's beginning to look (and feel) like winter!

When you are not focused on a question and not seeking an answer, you are not living. You are not feeding the planet, and the planet is not feeding you.  Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Universality, November, 2009)

In a world that honors knowing, questions often get a bad rap. We can feel inadequate when we don’t know something, hiding our unknowing by acting as if we do.  I’ve done that and, in doing so, I block the energy, the excitement, the joy and satisfaction of discovery. I block the energetic force of life.

Perhaps in part this is old residue from school days where having the right answer brought cheers, while the wrong answer or, worse yet, no answer at all evoked jeers (or worse).  What if ‘I don’t know, but I’m going to find out’ was seen as the best answer?

The theme of discovery emerged this week amidst finding myself in a post-election funk, having allowed some of the energy of the masses to enter my being. I realized that I’d lost any sense of curiosity and wonder about what is happening in the world.  I forgot my belief that all is unfolding as it should in the universe. ‘It’ seems all wrong and depressing to consider.  

In the thick of the funk, I was aware that when I walk through life’s events with curiosity, I’m energized, engaged, and have the capacity to hold life lightly.  That’s true of even the seemingly insignificant, but necessary, daily tasks in life. 

On the other hand, when I engage with a sense of obligation, my energy quickly fades carrying with it peace, happiness and satisfaction.  And, without a sense of something to be discovered, obligation seems to rule.  In musing about how to cultivate a culture of discovery, the question ‘so, what is the question?’ emerged. Forming a question is key to cultivating wonder and curiosity.

I have some what I consider to be ‘big’ questions. Those are the questions that there’s no quick, easy answer to. Rather, they live and they help me frame the more immediate questions, those learning opportunities that in due time solve the mystery.  I’m curious about what it means to be ‘in the world and not of it’. And, I’m curious how to live that.  I’m curious about universal law and how energy works, more specifically, how can I use the energy of each day more effectively?

When I’m fully aware, these questions guide my choices about what I read, what I participate in and how I do so.  More importantly, they help me cultivate my sense of wonder around life’s daily events where the learning opportunities are ever-present whether I recognize them as such or not. 

There are gems to be uncovered in every choice we make. Questions help me recognize them when I’m willing to ask and then seek to discover. 

What about you? What question will cultivate your sense of wonder today?  Tomorrow?  And, beyond?

Our favorite spot on Cottonwood Creek is putting on its winter cloak.

Matriot For The Planet

What a difference a day makes ...

Once you acquire planetary loyalty, you are loyal to everybody. You are way out of line if you try being loyal to people before you are totally loyal to the planet.  Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Universality – November, 2009)

It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” Baha’u’llah

Yesterday ... 

Some years ago in a personal musing about the planet and my country I had the idea that we would be better served by embracing being ‘patriots’ for the planet rather than continuing to maintain the unsustainable patriotism that pits one (country or group) against another.  That idea circled back this morning as I considered the universal law of reflection and how I might expand my capacity to express a softer, gentler me and, thus be better able to see the same in others.

I thought that I was creating a new word when ‘matriot’ appeared on the page.  However, a trip to the dictionary quickly revealed its existence and this definition: “Hometown, school, or parish pride or loyalty, as opposed to nationalism or patriotism. Love or celebration of a woman's influence upon society; a women's equivalent to male patriotism. Love of the motherland, as opposed to patriotism as love of the fatherland.” 

I appreciate the first definition, as it reflects what I’ve been aiming for this week: staying close to home, staying present with myself moment to moment and avoiding the fray of ‘what if’ scenarios rampant all around.  It’s a time to not get ahead of myself, to make no plans, and to look to nature first.

The Urban dictionary online offered the meaning that is closest to what I was thinking:  

A person who loves, supports, and defends the earth and its interests with devotion.  Of country, patriot. Of earth, matriot

What occurs to me as I muse to see how the law of reflection fuses with being a matriot for the planet is that we need to nurture the language needed to bring forth the change we seek in the world. This is of course not a new idea. ‘Change your language. Change your life’ is a staple meme in self-development circles.  

Bringing this back home from we to me, how will I nurture new language for me?  The immediate opportunity is carefully observing the language of my thoughts and the words I speak. In taking care with my words, I can nurture and grow the divine feminine within. At the same time, I can be super selective about the language I choose as input, what I listen to and what I read.  That’s a start on growing my capacity to be a Matriot for the Earth.

How about you?  

Sunday Night's Super Moon

Count On THIS!

I can always count on Luke's 'Treat Please!' shadow

No matter what the outcome, the sun will rise tomorrow … President Barack Hussein Obama, November 8, 2016

We have an abundant Universe. We have an infinite Universe. We have an omnipotent, creative Universe, and all these things are available to us. We are willing to receive and willing to give thanks as an integral part of creation. Gregge Tiffen – The Power of Giving Thanks – November, 2007

Yesterday I grieved. I allowed the sobs and tears to flow each time they rose from deep within. The tears of joy seeing moms and dads with their daughters and sons placing “I voted” stickers on the grave of Susan B Anthony and my expectation that election day would bring the shattering of a thick glass ceiling,  became sobs of grief as the results of election night rolled in. If the results landed differently for you, I honor that our choices diverge.

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning when I finally put my tearful head on the pillow, President Obama’s words, “the sun will rise tomorrow …” offered a measure of comfort and a reminder to return to my wisdom, my core beliefs. I’d even found a surprising touch of hope in the tone and words of President-elect Trump’s victory speech.

After a few hours of restless ‘sleep’, I woke to the quiet and allowed the depths of my sorrow to rise with me. Through the sorrow, I realized indeed that the sun had risen. In nurturing myself in nature, I found solace. Like the sun, the mountains were in their place as beautiful and majestic as ever. The trees seemed to hold me in their care, embracing me before I reached out to hug them. And, Cool Hand Luke was his unconditionally loving self. Ah, This, This I can count on.

In nature, I count on the gentle, sweet presence of deer giving me a watchful eye from time to time.

Throughout the day I sought wisdom and understanding, mostly within on my ‘inner-net’, the receptive heart and soul of my being.  Receive and give thanks.

I ventured outward with cautious, selective curiosity seeking very little input yet wanting to know whether Hillary had spoken and what thoughts a few select colleagues and friends were sharing. I listened to a replay of Hillary’s message and found her generous, clear, consistent, committed, humble and grateful. Following that I listened to President Obama’s steady, graceful words reminding us of the fundamentals of our democracy and reaching out to wish the new president well.

How many among us can reach out after being as viciously attacked as the President and wish our attacker well?  I think of and am inspired by the Water Protectors at Standing Rock reaching out to the police who have attacked them. Could I be so graceful, so courageous?

How many among us could suffer a stunning setback and, within hours, stand tall publicly to gracefully wish our opponent well as Hillary did?

I looked in the mirror and reflected on how I’ve engaged in recent conflicts. Perhaps ‘grace in conflict’ as a learning opportunity doesn’t resonate for you, but I know that it is a part of my learning path as I seek to navigate ‘in’ this world without being ‘of’ it.  I aim to muster the courage to put my feet in the water of that muddy pond, and to experiment, up close and personal.

Deep in my soul, so deep that sometimes it is out of reach, I know that a divine plan is unfolding. It does so in ways I don’t expect, sometimes don’t like, and frequently don’t understand in human terms. My cells know this, but my awareness in this body and with this mind has not fully reached that level of acceptance. But the words of a mentor and friend yesterday reminded that I have eons of time and as many lifetimes as I need to experiment and to learn.

And I count on the nourishing beauty of the mountains and the trees.

Atmospheric Conditions

Perfect Atmospheric Conditions Required for Flight!

At times, by the use of a word, an attitude, or an action, you plug into some kind of energy that you are not aware is there.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Invisible Action – November, 2011)

There were times in my life that I took just a speck of inspiration that I could feel and expanded upon it to pump more vitality into that sense of acceptance. Patrece (undated personal communication)

In the midst of atmospheric conditions that feel, sound, and look dark and ominous, one can sometimes feel that other energy isn’t there for our use.  I find myself with that challenge more than I’d like.  At a time when I (and I think humanity and the planet) need an atmosphere of well-being, it seems that the overall atmospheric conditions are dense, dark and in need of lifting.

On waking the first day back from my week away, I found myself slipping into a funk. Beyond ‘the world seems to be going to hell in a handbasket’, a closer look revealed a sense of obligation about many tasks and activities that needed my attention. Even activities that I wanted to participate in felt obligatory.

What energy had I unwittingly plugged into?  More importantly, what energy did I want and what atmosphere would I prefer to create?  The questions themselves along with recognizing that we each contribute to the overall atmosphere by the atmosphere we create for ourselves, provided an opening, a reminder that I could walk through a different portal to a different attitude, a different atmosphere.

Over the years, I’ve found many things that nurture and support me to create an atmosphere of well-being around me.  Daily walks in nature with the handsome Cool Hand Luke and joy of caring for him rank high on my list.  Music, listening and singing; poetry, reading and writing; mystical and spiritual works are other fertilizer to nourish and expand on little bits of inspiration. Creating a nurturing environment for my B&B guests supports me in many ways.

A Favorite Inspirational Spot on Cottonwood Creek

Gregge Tiffen’s work, both his general writing and notes from my consultations with him over 30 years, likewise is an always reliable source.  A look at my personal BiCircadian calendar (one of many tools of his legacy) provided just what I needed to shift from obligation to exploration: two planets in positions that supported lightness, fun, creativity, and spontaneity. Although I didn’t exactly jump up and shout “bring it on!”, I felt the heaviness of obligation lifting and the curiosity of exploration beginning to bloom.

All too often we accept the atmosphere we find ourselves in as ‘just the way things are’.  We forget that there is a choice about the energy we plug into and the atmosphere which that creates.  We wander away from ‘home’, look outside of ourselves (our cells), and latch on to whatever energy is present. In a world that needs the vibration of our well-being, perhaps that haste does indeed make waste, and taking time to make a conscious choice serves us as well as serving humanity.

Question for the week: How do you recognize specks of inspiration and what are your favorite ways to nurture them?

Handsome. That IS All.

Going All Out

Going All Out for Halloween!

Waste is the one thing that the Universe does not allow, and to ignore the ‘Great Pumpkin’ of why you are here is a waste. You become part of your own excitement when you recognize that you living your life is you being revealed to you. Now that is productive! Gregge Tiffen (The Great Pumpkin: Was Charlie Brown Right? October, 2007)

I’m away from my normal environment this week, spending time on Colorado’s Front Range in the Boulder/Denver area, a few days in suburbia and a few in the heart of the City. Being away typically stimulates different reflections and new points of awareness. This trip is no different. Among several such points of reflection was noticing the abundance of Halloween decorations on our walks in the neighborhood where I’m visiting a friend.

After an initial snarky judgement (who me?), I found myself curious about the idea of ‘going all out’. Since I generally don’t go all out for decorations, I asked myself just what I’m inspired to go ‘all out’ for.

Ah, the Great Pumpkin of life was inviting my attention, offering the possibility of new awareness from my observations and judgments. Something new was being revealed, a new lens from which to reflect and, perhaps, to make adjustments:

• What does it mean to me to ‘go all out’?
• What do I go all out for in my life?
• What new possibilities offer the opportunity to go all out?

My quick first list included much of how I live my life: my self-care, care for Luke, care for my home, as well as care for my coaching clients, bed & breakfast guests, and friends. Creating this weekly post and my commitment to my personal and spiritual learning and growth are other areas that I identified. Pretty satisfying.

The list led me to realize that, for me, ‘going all out’ is an inside job before it becomes an outside expression. It means bringing forth the best that is in me whatever that is moment to moment, without regard for what I’m doing. It requires that I be clear and harmonious. I need to keep the world’s chaos at bay and maintain balance within.

‘Going all out’ for me means what Gregge calls “attending to our own creativity”, whether I’m engaged in the day to day activities that make up life or in a big creative project. From that perspective, I can ask ‘what do I want to go all out for now, next and I can stay tuned into me to discover just what that will be.  And, that’s a pretty exciting thought to take out for a walk with my friend and our beloved pups on this beautiful, warm autumn day.

Or Maybe I'll Go Play With a Dragon ...

Life Flows - Take 2

An eye in the woods - "Here's lookin' at ya!"

We are part of a natural flow of experiences in which all that we are really doing is allowing ourselves to participate in the flow. Gregge Tiffen (Deeds Are Fruit, Words Are Leaves – October, 2008)

In a culture that drives us to ‘make things happen’ and creates the illusion that we are somehow ‘in control’, it can be discomforting to consider the possibility that we humans have it all wrong about how we ‘make’ things happen.

That same idea can be comforting as well. What if life is simply about showing up for events that have already been created, deciding what attitude and approach we’ll choose to ‘wear’ for each?  Like choosing a Halloween costume: Who do you want to be today?  What if that flow is about experimenting and acquiring knowledge that at some point is distilled into a drop of wisdom that stays with us forever? What if in our life today we have in our cells wisdom collected over eons of experience?

I woke this morning and picked up paper and pen. After a few quiet moments, these words came forth to begin the natural flow of this day.

Rivers flow

Money flows

Life flows

And, so it goes

I

With the flow

I

Knowing that I know.

Oh, that.

Ease

Follows remembering

Who I am

And my place of grace

In the Universe.

Gratitude floats like a leaf on the surface

And as a fish swimming below.

Gratitude embraces the flow.

Hi There!

It was a few moments before I recognized that this week’s post had ‘arrived’.  Sometimes a quote provides the inspiration for the words that follow. This week the words came first, so I set out in search of a quote. Then, when I found the quote above, I discovered that it’s the one that I used exactly one year ago for the post in the third week of October, 2015 (you can read that take on ‘Life Flows’ here - http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/life-flows.  I think I’ve stepped into the flow of this day … now, off for a walk, breakfast and discovering what other delights I’ll have the opportunity to participate in.

How are you flowing in the river that is your life?

A beautiful fall day on a favorite trail.

The Humbling Side of Awareness

May All Your Paths Be Paved With Gold!

The whole technique, in terms of living, is the means of being aware, curiously aware and questioningly aware.  Gregge Tiffen (The Language of A Mystic: Innovation, October, 2009)

Being aware brings a great deal of excitement, interest and joy to daily life. It can also bring moments of humbling truth.

In the midst of exploring a gnarly, conflict-filled situation with my coach, she asked a question with implications far beyond the event we were discussing. “Do you need the extremes, the conflict?” she inquired.

The answer in that moment for that event was a clear resounding ‘no’.  Yet, as I suspected, the question had legs and would stay with me as I observed my thoughts and actions afterwards. Over the next several days as I put the event behind me, I was quickly aware of and mostly able to manage judgmental, conflict-oriented thoughts about the situation.  And, I also noticed something else: other thoughts (more that I would like to admit) that engaged the themes of extremes, conflict and judgement.  Ugh! 

Beyond the ‘ugh’, I mustered some curiosity and began to notice even more. Some of my interest in conflict was energizing in a positive way. For example, seeing the extremes in the current Presidential race here in the U.S. can move me into action supporting the views that I believe in.  That kind of engagement is rewarding in terms of self-expression and satisfaction.

But I also noticed a ‘dark’ side, other thought patterns that, while they may energize in the moment, actually drain my energy. These are thoughts that put my attention on others, on comparison, and judgement in a way that creates an atmosphere of conflict where none exists nor is it needed.

Discovering these stories and acknowledging that some offer the illusion that I am ‘better than’ another has been humbling. Seeing that they energize in ways that don’t serve me is a gift of that awareness.

From these discoveries I can release any dependence on this form of conflict to energize me. I can choose when to engage and explore ways to do so in alignment with my true nature. I can notice when these thoughts arise and create different ones. I can experiment and practice; then rinse and repeat.

I can be ‘curiously and questioningly aware’ and THAT is LIVING!

Nature's Beauty Abounds ...

Challenge for the week:  Engage your curiosity and questioning to discover what among your many thought patterns serve you and which ones do not.  Share your discoveries over on the blog site.

Early Morning Light and Beauty with Luke