Making Home in New Territory

Snowy Mountain Morning

It is like a voyage of discovery into unknown lands, seeking not for new territory but for new knowledge. It should appeal to those with a good sense of adventure.  Fredrick Sanger (English Scientist)

Words are slow to organize themselves this first ‘blog day’ of 2023. Yesterday I said to a friend that I feel myself in some new ground that invites exploration, some inner terrain presenting itself, not yet clearly, rather shrouded like the mountain peaks here in the sacred Sangres. A few days earlier another long-time friend voiced something similar and laughing said ‘where’s the instruction manual for this?’

Her humor evoked a quick, simultaneous response, a duet from the two of us ‘there is no manual; YOU/we are writing it.’ I’m certain Muse chuckled and recognized the fodder for this and future Pivots.

I’m blessed that from the cozy comfort of home, I can voyage into unknown lands, uncharted inner territory dependent not on an instruction manual but on trusting my own internal GPS as signposts present themselves for discovery. While I feel quite at home here in this place I love, I wonder how I will embrace this new territory. What will I need to unpack, to resolve, to discover in order to make this new territory ‘home’?

So far each of the 7 Days of Rest and Return to Essence have offered up much to reflect upon, starting with day 1 and its theme, Presence. What is the Essence of Presence? And the Presence of Essence?

As I sink into exploring Essence, I discover it as a felt sense beyond any words – lofty or otherwise – to describe. In this new territory, it seems that logic is invited to sit quietly on the bench rather than actively playing on the field. Perhaps that is what makes way for Essence to emerge and inspires me to explore.

Each day’s offering of reflective questions (offered by 7 Days creator Shelly Ostroff) are nourishing not only exploration of this new territory, but its future development.

Day 2 Resonance -- What would it look like in your life to make choices that resonate with the core of your being and the wellbeing of the all? What are the stories, the noise, habits and the distractions that need to be to shed for this to happen? What practices and behaviors want to be amplified? What wants to be transformed, and what potential pathways reveal themselves as you slow down, simplify and attune to the language of essence?

These questions resonate deep within, not as new, but expanding territory where the surface has been scratched. An invitation to deepen.

Day 3 Radiance -- Invite in the consciousness of radiance to be present with you. What are the images and sensations that arise? Imagine yourself embodying the essence of radiance in the moment - how does radiance feel, how does radiance move?

I find myself tiptoeing into these questions, looking out to find radiance more than looking within. Muse takes note, and nudges that perhaps some excavation may be required to develop acceptance of my radiance in this territory.

Day 4 Gratitude is a personal favorite and territory that seems very familiar having developed practices of gratitude for many years. I’m grateful for recognizing that I’m in new territory and curious to discover how gratitude will guide the way. Among several beautiful reflection questions, Ostroff offers this: How do you experience the relationship of generosity and gratitude and how does this relationship manifest in your life? How does expressing and receiving gratitude cultivate loving sacred relationship?

Collectively and individually, we are in new territory, indeed many new territories in a plethora of domains. I’m discovering signposts resonant with my internal GPS along with some that challenge me to adjust course as I navigate to feel at home in new territory.

May we each find the signposts we need within and without to navigate and be at home in the new. Perhaps this lively, poignant tune, shared by a fellow explorer in her own new territory, will lighten your spirit for the journey ahead (Phillip Phillips Home).

Nature’s Patterns

Pivot to Wonderment

Fuzzy Mountain Moonrise

Wonder enlarges the heart. When you wonder, you are drawn out of yourself. The cage of the ego and the railtracks of purpose no longer hold you prisoner. Wonder creates a lyrical space where thought and feeling take leave of their repetitive patterns, to regain their original impulse of reverence before the mystery of what is. John O’Donohue (Wonder Awakens Us to the Magic of the World – essay in Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Hunger to Belong).

Oh, what deep appreciation I have for the places O’Donohue explores, allowing us to join him through the legacy of his poetic, heart-felt words. Wonderment, that comforting (for me) state of awed admiration and respect, is what spending time with the writings of this man of the soul evokes. I’m reminded always to be present to whatever is in front of me. And, to wonder.

Wonderment seems to follow wonder. Not in a logical, sequential way, but rather as a doorway. Without wondering, without engaging my curious self, whether I’m looking out at the world or journeying within, the absence of wonder separates me from the sheer joy of wonderment, of life.

I’m reminded of yesterday’s conversation with a friend as we drove past a herd of yak on the Chok-u-rei Ranch here in the valley. My friend observes that some of these magnificent creatures stand close to one another as they graze. She wonders ‘what do they talk about in their closeness?’ I scan the herd looking for the youngsters and wonder at their playful romping, chasing one another before returning to their munching.

It is wonder that gifts us with the presence to notice the herd on this route we’ve each travelled hundreds of times over the years. The regenerative soil practicing ranch spans the only road from our community to the main highway, a 12-mile road through the flat valley floor that without a sense of wonder could be (and admittedly sometimes is) a blur.

Coming back from our journey we drive toward the mountains and quietly share our wonder at how their appearance shifts with various angles of light. Soon the moon, just past its fullness and being eclipsed by Mother Earth, will rise over the Sangres, offering another spectacle inviting wonderment of this place.

The wind blows strong and steady as I write this morning. I turn my wonder within as I aim to remember to do when weather is not to my liking. How might I embrace the wind as an element of the greater winds of change blowing all around in this cycle of time? Surely this element of air and its time of rapid movement has purpose in the ebb and flow of life. What might it be blowing out? What is the wind ushering in?

This seemingly simple flow of words eases the dread I was beginning to feel about the morning walk with Zadie Byrd. Embracing wind for what it is – a necessary element of Nature, unseen yet powerful – eases my need to ‘brace’ for stepping outside.

Muse nods with a smile, acknowledging my pivot, shifting from my early morning look at election returns to see if the unexpectedly tight race in my Congressional district has been called (it hasn’t – hope springs eternal!) to turning within to discover what wants to be shared in this weekly sacred space.

It occurs to me on this morning after midterm elections here in the U.S. that pivoting to wonderment offers a pathway for bridging the vast gaps that divide us. How might we shift from disdain, disagreement, ‘my way is the only way’ thinking and ways of being to genuine, heart-felt wonder about one another? How might we see that indeed there is no ‘other’, just the One. How might I?

I’m grateful for those engaged in the political, policy, and governance realms who are working towards bridging these divides. I’m grateful too for the wonder and beauty of Nature that surrounds and informs me in Her way. As the winds grow stronger this day, I’m reminded that wonderment is a path to embracing all of life even, perhaps especially, the wind.

Cottonwood Creek - Leaves Fallen, Ice to Come

Presence: Am I Doing or Devoting?

Love in the woods on a snowy May morn!

Presence is a state of inner happiness. Eckhart Tolle

Devotion simply means connectivity. It’s an unquestionable connection. And it depends only on you. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Noticing that my thoughts were scattered amidst several threads for today’s post, Muse suggested an earlier than usual morning walk. I readily agreed.

Sun hitting the snowy peaks created stunning, whispery waves of vaporous beauty. Yes! The Sangres were blessed with snow this week! Though there was a chill in the air, the morning was spring-like. Birds singing, sun warming, Zadie Byrd sniffing, all with the pageantry of wintry mountain vistas as the backdrop. Ahh … Walk and breakfast done, I invite Muse to engage …

Today and a bit too frequently recently, I’m present to scattered thoughts racing in my mind as I engage in the tasks of daily life. More often than I’d like, the thoughts are scrambled, repetitive, about ‘this’ or ‘that’ or ‘the other’ rather than having a particular or productive focus. Gratefully however they exist mostly on the positive end of the energy spectrum rather than plugging in to the pervasive negativity and fear that seem all too present in our world today. Hmm…

I pause, wondering what Muse has in mind with this thread I didn’t expect. How does it relate to the ideas and experiences that have surfaced this past week? Does it?

Muse chuckles. Energy. Everything is energy.

I pause again, letting Muse’ reminder sink in. Ah, yes, I’m beginning to glimpse a connection to the idea of distinguishing ‘doing’ from ‘devoting’ that I’d been musing about for several days. My exploration grew from a something a dear friend and wise woman shared in an email communication. “One hour a day I devote (literally) to sorting and eliminating …”.

I recognized a distinction at once – doing or devoting - and noticed how engaging from the perspective of doing for the sake of getting something done drains energy, opening the door to distracting thoughts. Scattered thoughts about ‘stuff’ steal me and my energy from being in the present moment fully, attentively, devotedly. Past or future oriented, these thoughts likewise are robbers of happiness and contentment. They disconnect me from me and from whatever task is at hand.

In finding a new depth to Tolle’s ‘Power of Now’ I’m present to how frequently I’m not present in the moment that is. Ouch! And wow!

My wise woman friend’s words offered immediate inspiration to begin to engage in my own long set aside sorting, rehoming, eliminating that which I no longer need or choose to care for along with clarity about the presence and perspective I can bring to the process, no longer a massive, overwhelming list of to dos. Rather I can hold the clearing as a sacred process of care for self and for others. A process that I devote myself, my time, my energy, and my presence to. This devotion connects me. To me. To care. To happiness.

As I write, I glance up and out into the woods, observing robin hopping on the moist ground, fully present to their search for whatever nutritious goodies lurk in the dampness. What new beginnings are ahead as I shift course from simply doing to devoting?

Mountain Morning Majesty

Presence - Up and Over the Divides

Quick Pic of the Divide on a Cold, Blustery Day

The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. Thich Nhat Hanh

Zadie Byrd and I were up and, on the road, early this morning, traversing the Continental Divide at North Cochetopa Pass (10,135 feet), occupied land of the Utes, Cochetopa being the Ute word for ‘pass of the buffalo’. The two-lane road of our route winds through short canyons on either side of the pass, each with distinct characteristics, both beautiful in their distinctness.

As mind wandered in many directions, Muse called me to the present moment, to attending to the drive and to keen awareness of the sense of home I feel in canyon country. Wondering about that, I asked ‘what is it about canyons that is so comforting?’. Immediately I felt the presence of ancestors, life in these mountains across the ages, human life, animal life – I could almost see the buffalo roaming, abundant life with no fences, utility poles, pavement or other modern accoutrements. I sense that I lived in that time and eons before. I felt the infinite nature of life and the reality that everywhere is home.

The felt sense was a gift of the present moment. One only accessible when wandering mind was invited to rest and gems of the moment allowed to rise. The rubble of worry about past and future is just that: rubble. Gemstones are in the awareness of this present moment. So too is attention to the matters of the road, sensing the need to slow down then discovering deer crossing the road around a curve ahead.

The purpose of our trip over and back was for a new veterinarian to examine Zadie’s eye, which has continued to be inflamed. The level of attention and care we received was extraordinary (in contrast to the recent surgery and follow-up), and we returned home back over the divide weary, but pleased and confident that the new approach and protocol has Zadie Byrd on the road to being her bright-eyed self in both eyes once again.

As I settled in with Muse to reflect and write, I’m present to Zadie’s irritation in the left eye, the ‘input’ side of the body. I’ve thought about this throughout this experience, wondering what irritations in me she may be reflecting. What do I need to clean up to support her healing (and my own)? Am I exercising dominion that serves me when I react to the absurdities of elected officials in ways that are perhaps equally absurd? What about when I feel and express annoyance toward another? What am I present to in those moments?

Mind says, ‘surely there is more to say this week …’. Muse says, ‘enough – presence in the moment requires few words or deeds, simply awareness; just BE that’. And so, for now, I BE. Clearer dominion and choices to follow!

Winding Our Way Through Gunnison Canyon