Receptivity: Welcome Mat of The Mind

Morning Crescent Moon - Receptivity Peeks Through The Trees

Just as instinct guides the animal, so would intuition guide man, if he would allow it to do so. (Ernest Holmes - The Science of Mind)

To withhold ourselves from receiving Universal energy as a result of negative thinking and negative action, or to resist giving thanks from our point of awareness is to work against the flow of the Universal energy. (Gregge Tiffen – The Power of Giving Thanks – November, 2007)

Waking this Thursday, ‘Blog Day’, with no idea re this week’s topic, I felt a gentle nudge to start from a different place. Rather than opening one of Gregge’s booklets, I turned to today’s ‘Daily Guide’ (this month written by Rev. Dr. Christian Sorensen) in my November Science of Mind magazine. When I read Holmes’ quote, the focus was clear: receptivity.  That led me quickly to Gregge’s quote, a reminder to be receptive to the ever present flow of Universal energy.

I chuckled as I read Sorensen’s message, where he equates training the mind to be quiet and receptive with training a puppy to ‘stay’.  “Intuition,” he says “comes of a welcoming mind where it will impress itself upon the receptive medium.” 

Being that receptive medium or keeping our welcome mat out requires consistent intention, attention and p r a c t i c e. We have a lot of help in doing so.

Think of nature and her receptivity: plants grow toward light and animals instinctively know where to find food. Another chuckle as I thought of the bear that made a mess of my nicely stacked wood this week. He was simply following his natural instinct toward food, which just happened to be under my firewood stacks.

Bear Instinct

We’ve all experienced the joys of following our intuition. Seven years ago this month, I woke with a strong sense that I was to adopt a dog ‘this week’. I ended up being at the shelter at just the right time to meet Cool Hand Luke and his foster mom who needed to find a home for him quickly. Two weeks and a long hike in the mountains later ‘Luke’ came home to Crestone. These seven years have been a joy having him as my teacher and companion. Yes, I might have adopted another ‘good’ dog. But I would not have had the experiences that Cool Hand Luke Skywalker continues to offer daily.

I’ve learned from those joys as well as from the not always joyous times when I wasn’t receptive, choosing to ignore a clear sense to choose ‘A’ over ‘B’.  We can all cite those examples as well.

I’m grateful for both. They serve as reminders, reinforcement if you will, of the good that comes when we listen from within to the whispers (that sometimes must grow louder to get our attention) of guidance from Source.

We are receptive beings. Receiving the flow of Universal energy is a blessing of the highest order. It isn’t ‘more blessed to give than to receive’ as we’ve been told. Receiving and giving have equal parts in the flow of life. What we receive opens the door to giving thanks as well as to giving ourselves as expressions of that energy flow.

In the week ahead I invite you to join me in keeping the welcome mat out for all the Universe has to offer. Notice what comes. Observe your response. And, walk through your world ever grateful for its bounty.

Hurry Up Mom ... Let's Go Eat Breakfast!

Earth Day: Harmony For The Planet Every Day

Getting Ready for Earth Day at the Dragonfly House!

God is the great mysterious motivator of what we call nature, and it has been said often by philosophers, that nature is the will of God. And, I prefer to say that nature is the only body of God that we shall ever see.  Frank Lloyd Wright (quoted in Life In The World Hereafter: The Journey Continues)

Nature is intimately partnered with us in this physical experience, and that is perhaps the greatest boon of our incarnate existence, as nature is directly connected to and informed by the Universe.  Gregge Tiffen (Life In The World Hereafter: The Journey Continues, 2006)

You can knock me over, but I'll still grow up.

I’m profoundly blessed and deeply grateful to live surrounded by nature’s beauty and bounty. I step outside my door into a veritable feast for my senses. Seeing the flow of Cottonwood Creek bringing the snowmelt from the peaks reminds me of the natural flow of life. The smell of freshness in the pines tells me that experiences in life are always new. The distinctive buzz of the season’s first hummingbird signals the joy of spring awakening. The warm touch of the sun says that coats and hats and gloves can soon be put away. With a bit of awareness and imagination, I can taste the freshness of spring.

'Scout', first hummer of the season, making sure everything is in order before the charm arrives here at their summer home.

Daily I hold the intention to live in greater harmony with nature and to hear and understand her messages more clearly.  I almost never leave home without my little camera and I never know what visual treat the flora or fauna or rocks will provide.  Sometimes I simply enjoy the beauty of what is offered. Other times I wonder and reflect on what message nature is sending. What can I learn from what I see?

Yesterday, feeling a bit of a funk and choosing not to force myself into putting energy into one of several projects on my list, Luke and I set out to wander through the woods out back. No trails to stay on. Luke followed his nose. Mom set out to let visual wonders lead the way. Our paths rarely drifted far from one another despite the denseness of the woods and our different interests.

Two Trees ... growing together, growing apart amidst the curves and tangles of life.

Our wandering reminded me that the Universe is designed in harmony and our dominion over the Earth is to maintain and restore that harmony. With every thought, every word, every deed we are making a contribution of harmony that supports nature on the planet or of disharmony that puts nature in the position of taking action to rebalance.  Our thoughts matter. Our words matter. How we maintain our bodies, our homes and care for our pets and our plants matter.  Even how we sleep matters.  

Accepting death as a part of the natural cycle helps us harmonize with nature and ourselves.

Harmony matters. This earth day, I’m rededicating myself to my own personal harmony, within and without. What about you?

Simple Beauty ... my version of eye candy and found in every direction.

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.

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.

What's In It For Me?

Autumn in The Rockies

The obligation for each of us is that we must have a sense of doing what we believe is right. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: In Search of Wisdom – September, 2010)

I’ve been sitting with this wisdom from Gregge for a couple weeks around several opportunities presenting themselves for my consideration. I’ve been asking questions such as ‘what values am I considering as I think about what is ‘right’?  Do I/will I like myself as I engage in this?  What might I learn? How might I grow? And, ultimately ‘what’s in it for me?’

Does the question bring a shudder of judgement suggesting it’s selfish to ask?  It did for me when I was first challenged to consider it.  It’s a very different question than ‘what’s important about this to me?’ and many of the other questions that we ask when making choices both large and small.  Rather than being a selfish question, I’m finding it one that opens me to new discoveries about what motivates me and what I care about. It brings me gently to identify and consider agendas that may be hidden.  It helps me bring clarity to my intentions.  

Rather than being a question that skims the surface merely identifying potential material gain, asking what’s in it for me?  takes me to a deep, reflective place. It helps me define what I need and want as I make choices about where to invest my energy. Discovering this helps me feel a sense of satisfaction at day’s end when I lay my head on the pillow.

As I reflect on the question itself, I sense that it leads me to a more authentic expression me. It keeps me or puts me on paths that best fit my personal design. It brings a sense of ease and flow to life and erases any need for struggle.

Happy biker ... I'm guessing she know 'what's in it for her'.

A Beautiful Fall Day in the Rockies

Batting Practice: Time Or Energy?

The flow is increasing, Cottonwood Creek widens and the sound of the gentle stream is a roar. That's the energy of Spring and Summer!

We are to implement what the Universe puts before us, or we lose energy. We use the energy to meet the requirement when the requirement is there in order to gain from that cycle of ‘time’. This is functioning according to Universal time.  Gregge Tiffen (Impatience Fishes In An Empty Pond – June, 2008)

Some folks don’t like baseball because it isn’t a time limited game. When I lived in Houston years ago, I was an Astros fan and attended what turned out to be one of the longest games in baseball history: 22 innings or such and ending at 2am.  Based on our experience, we have an idea of what energy and time will be required when we begin a project or a task. But we don’t know how it will unfold or what twists will be presented.

It’s challenging in our world to not live and be limited by the clock.  We use time to pressure ourselves and we allow other people and conditions to pressure us with ‘deadlines’. We’re surrounded by visual and audio reminders to be ‘on time’.

We forget that the Universe didn’t create time. The Universe created cycles. Within those cycles energy flows, and it falls to we humans to use and direct that energy for our benefit in the experiences life presents. From these we gain knowledge.

I found myself exhausted one day recently and had the thought that it was like I’d been at batting practice all day, swinging against every pitch that came my way.  I realized that my attention for most of the way hadn’t been to use and direct energy. Rather I was ‘getting things done’ on a mostly self-imposed schedule. I was doing each task so I could check it off of my list and get to the next.  I was working against myself and being exhausted by my focus time.

Unlike the batter who uses the start of a new cycle after a pitch to reset and refocus for the next pitch, I didn’t hold each task as a cycle. I didn’t honor the completion of one task and give myself the gift of resetting and looking at the energy requirement needed before I engaged in the next.  I was doing, not directing energy. 

As I look to the week ahead, I’m going to experiment with stepping out of the batter’s box between Universal pitches. In doing so, I aim to bring more awareness and choice to how I direct my energy. And, at when I’m done, to feel complete and satisfied, not unsettled, exhausted, and anxious about what I didn’t get done.  Care to join me here at ‘home plate’?

Patiently waiting while Mom takes pictures and some quiet moments by the creek.

Voice Your Power

Sunrise over the Sangres

The use of your voice, in the simplest of conversations, activates an energy flow and an energy pattern.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: An Honest Performance – June, 2011)

This week I experienced a profound energy shift. When I looked back at the experience, I noticed that the shift seemed to have been activated by words I spoke in the quiet of the woods. 

I awoke the day of a scheduled appointment in a nearby town with a sense of ‘don’t go’ so strong that I couldn’t ignore it. The day before I’d had a touch of angst about going, but I set that aside (or perhaps I ignored it). I went through the litany of reasons not to cancel, including the probability that I’d pay for the appointment because I’d be cancelling so late. 

I thought of the many times in life I’ve ignored a strong pull to do or not do something, and the consequences of my ignorance. I decided that as soon as the office opened, I’d call and cancel anyway.

Decision made, Luke and I set out for our morning walk.  After a beautiful long walk in the cool morning and enjoying the sun as it rose over the mountains. As we often do, we ended our walk at the labyrinth. When I reach the center each visit, I acknowledge and give gratitude to the six directions and what I see as I turn my attention to each: the mountains of the east, the tree of the south, the valley to the west, the forest of the north, the vast sky above, the solid earth below. I did just that and felt the lightness and joy that a labyrinth walk brings as I walked the circles back to the beginning.

And, as it generally does, that lightness and peace was a part of me as we came in for breakfast.  As I began to think about the day, now a blank slate since I was cancelling the appointment, I noticed that the energy had shifted.  I felt drawn to keep the appointment, run the other errands that I do when I go to this particular town, and treat myself to lunch by the river.  I took a few breaths and checked in to be sure.  None of the foreboding sense of ‘don’t go’ remained.  I moved onward into the day as planned, one that turned out to be quite pleasant and an easy flow.

I can’t prove or perhaps even know for certain that my voice in the woods initiated the shift. But, it certainly seems that way to me. That is just how powerful we are!

I’m reminded to be mindful in all the words I speak, whether to the woods or to another or even to myself.  When I’m truly honest with me and look at results and patterns that are not as much to my liking as the day above, I can find clues in words spoken without that care.  And, that’s a story for another day.

Luke sporting his 'summer cut' at our favorite spot on Cottonwood Creek.

Life Flows

A beautiful, soft morning across the San Luis Valley to start my day.

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 in Deeds are Fruit, Words are Leaves (October, 2008)

Events, many unexpected, seem to show up right on time to benefit me in some way.  I’m learning to trust more deeply that natural flow.  Beneficial events aren’t just those that feel good or bring me pleasure. Especially when I look back, I can clearly see how challenging, unpleasant events brought growth.

I don’t always get to that perspective immediately. When I do, I’m able to meet the event with curiosity, gratitude, and (hopefully) a modicum of grace.  It’s humbling and gratifying to remember that I and I alone choose how to walk through life’s events.

And, so do you. Life flows and we choose how to participate. As I prepared to participate in a somatics course this week (graciously offered by two awesome colleagues and Newfield Network), I was reminded that life flows in all directions. To paraphrase master somatics teacher, Stuart Heller:

Life flows up and Life flows down. Life flows forward and Life flows back. Life flows in and Life flows out. Life flows right and Life flows left.

Stop for a moment and let that sink in.  Better yet, stand up and move in each direction: up, down, forward, back, in, out, left, right.

Life flows out. The course and the flow reminder were just in time for me to demonstrate the power of how we walk (and sit) through life’s events to a coaching client who was trying to figure out how to broach a sensitive topic with a team member. As we explored possibilities, I suggested that she shift how she was sitting. After shifting from sitting on the edge of her chair and leaning forward to occupying the whole seat, leaning back and opening her chest, she discovered a new range of language was possible to engage in the conversation.  

Life flows in. Recently I’ve received several surprise presents that made my heart smile.

Warning signs sometimes flow into life to wake us up.

Life flows down. An issue with my health presented the opportunity to explore the depth of my conviction about my body’s ability to, with proper support, heal itself.  As I scheduled acupuncture appointments, body work, drank my herbs, adjusted my eating habits, I realized a missing ingredient: bringing my belief and my intention consciously and clearly into the process.

Life flows up. So, I’m creating a new practice to engage all of me in the healing process.

Life flows back.  As the bed & breakfast high season winds down and winter is on the horizon, I found myself experiencing some angst about money and completing the ‘get ready for winter’ list of household tasks. I needed to gently guide my thoughts to a track other than worry.

Life flows forward. Within a couple days of putting my attention on remembering that ‘all my needs are met’, I received a phone call from a woman needed temporary housing. We created an agreement that meets both of our financial requirements. In addition, she’s helping with the winter chores (a good thing as temps are dropping and we could be graced with our first snow soon) AND caring for Luke and our home while I travel next week.

Life flows. Stop for a moment and look at the events in your life over the past week. What do you notice?  How do you feel?  How are you meeting life’s flow, especially when its direction may not be exactly what you thought it would be?

Winter's white blanket is edging our way.