Earth Body

Rocky Ground

“You carry Mother Earth within you. She is not outside of you. Mother Earth is not just your environment… 

… it is possible to have real communication with the Earth, which is the highest form of prayer. In that kind of relationship you have enough love, strength and awakening in order to change your life.

Changing is not just changing the things outside of us. First of all we need the right view that transcends all notions including of being and non-being, creator and creature, mind and spirit. That kind of insight is crucial for transformation and healing.

Fear, separation, hate and anger come from the wrong view that you and the earth are two separate entities, the Earth is only the environment. You are in the centre and you want to do something for the Earth in order for you to survive. That is a dualistic way of seeing.

So to breathe in and be aware of your body and look deeply into it and realise you are the Earth and your consciousness is also the consciousness of the earth.

~Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist Monk

Dance with Flow

Life Flows

Rocks Flow
Rock Flow

Even the hardest substances on Earth were once Flow

Shell Flow
Shell Flow

“Tree limbs spiral and flow out as they grow. And so do human limbs.
The spiral flow of fluid is the magic behind all growth.”

~Nancy Lankston

Trees Flow
Tree Flow

“Energy moves in waves. Waves move in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms.  A human being is just that: energy, waves, patterns, rhythms.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  A dance.”

~Gabrielle Roth, (1941-2012)

Body in Flow
Body in Flow
Dancer Gabrielle Roth

“Faith does not need to push the river because faith is able to trust that there is a river. The river is flowing. We are in it.”

~Richard Rohr

Rocks in Flow
Rocks in Flow

………………

Flow  

Verb
(esp. of a liquid)  Move along or out steadily and continuously in a current or stream: “from here the river flows north”.
 
Noun
The action or fact of moving along in a steady, continuous stream
 
Synonyms:
verb: stream – run – pour
noun: stream – flux – current – flood – tide
from Dictionary.com

Snowflake Wisdom

St. Vrain in Snow

February has never been my favorite month. The weather can be cold and  brutal. And snow is expected here in the Colorado Rockies today. Winter can seem endless in February. But a little story in  The 13 Original Clan Mothers stopped my winter grumbling and gave me a way to actually enjoy February.

The period of days from one new moon to the next is a moon month. According to Native American teachings, every moon month is watched over by a different Clan Mother.  Early February is within the 2nd moon month of the year; Grandmother Wisdom Keeper watches over this moon cycle. Wisdom Keeper holds the knowing that the entire history of this planet is held within the stones of Mother Earth. And that every part of nature helps hold our history.

One day in February, Grandmother Wisdom Keeper was out walking in nature and a little snowflake spoke to her.  Here is an excerpt of the Wisdom Keeper legend from Jamie Sams’ book:

“…On the Rock Person’s surface was a perfectly frozen snowflake. The intricate pattern of the snowflake seemed to float above the blue-gray of the stone’s surface.Wisdom Keeper bent closer, being careful that the warmth of her breath did not melt the frozen web suspended in the early morning frost. “Oh Snowflake,” she whispered to herself, “what a genuinely rare gift of winter you are.” 

The snowflake surprised Wisdom Keeper by answering her whispered thoughts, causing the Clan Mother’s heartbeat to quicken.

You may call me Ice Web, Mother. When Grandmother Spider wove the web of Creation, she created Snowflakes to represent the webs of dreams that would travel from the Dreamtime to Earth, becoming living, physical experiences.”

Wisdom Keeper had never encountered a talking snowflake before. In her curiosity, the Keeper of Earth’s Records felt impelled to ask Ice Web further questions in order to fully understand the roles that the Great Mystery gave the Ice-beings of winter. “What an extraordinary mission you have, Ice Web. Will you tell me more about how your Medicine assists our Planetary Family so that I may hold that understanding for the Two-leggeds?” 

“Of course I will, Wisdom Keeper. I was preserved in frost so that my passage through your life would not go unnoticed. You must record the purpose of my role in nature so that every Child of Earth will know how her or his dreams and visions aid the spiritual growth of the whole Planetary Family. 

Mother, every one of the Children of Earth has feelings and dreams according to his or her place in the scheme and balance of nature. When combined, all of those dreams and feelings make up the needs of the Children of Earth. The snowflakes are the messengers of those needs because our bodies hold the patterns of each individual dream. When Grandfather Sun’s warmth melts our bodies into water, the feelings of the collected dreams are poured into the Earth Mother’s soil, giving her the understanding of her children’s deepest desires.”

☾ ☽

I LOVE this view of the world where every part of nature has a purpose and wants to help us! A world where tiny snowflakes hold our most precious dreams for us. They hold and cherish each tiny seed until our dreams can sprout and grow in the warmth of spring.

Here’s wishing that many, many snowflakes fall today. I’d like one to hold and cherish each one of my winter dreams, please!

Snow on Front Range

Conscious Tidbits – Tree Poems

 “There is always music amongst the trees in the Garden,
but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.”

~Minnie Aumonier

“Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky”
~Khalil Gibran

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but
a mirror reflection of what we are doing to
ourselves and to one another.”
~Gandhi

Maybe Good, Maybe Bad

 

We Live in a World of Duality

Form /  Formless

Life  /  Death

Light /  Dark

Physical  /  Ethereal 

Earth  /  Heaven

Moon  /  Sun

Female  /  Male

Shakti   / Shiva

Love  /  Hate

Sorrow  /  Joy

Yin / Yang

The energy of our Universe flows and dances constantly between tangible form and formless energy. We are part of an intricate weaving of light and dark, form and formless, growth and decay. Duality is woven into the very fabric of our Universe.  And duality is a natural part of the miraculous dance of Spirit within earth, air, fire and water.

How do I keep my balance within this ever shifting duality? 

Pain and problems arise when I turn duality into polarity – when I attach an emotional charge to a person or  event. For example,  I might label something bad and reject it… or decide someone else is wrong and I am right… or push an experience away as bad and unwanted… or desperately crave something I don’t have. Pain and disconnect are inevitable when I polarize my experiences.

Judging and labeling EVERY single experience as good or bad
only makes me crazy and miserable!

What if I stop judging and labeling every aspect of Life as good or bad, right or wrong? What if I stop living in a state of charged polarity? What if I choose to actually live by the wisdom of the Tao?

“If good happens, good;  if bad happens, good. ”
~
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

One of my favorite parables about good and bad:

A farmer had only one stallion. One day, the horse jumped a fence and ran away. All the neighbors came by saying, “Oh no!  Such bad luck! You must be so upset.”  The man just said, “Maybe good, maybe bad – too soon to tell.”

A few days later, his stallion came back and brought twenty wild mares with him. The man and his son corraled all the horses. All the neighbors came by saying, “Wow! This is such good news. You must be so happy!”  The man just said, “Maybe good, maybe bad – too soon to tell.”

A few weeks later, one of the wild horses kicked the man’s only son, and broke the boy’s leg in 3 places. All the neighbors came by saying, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.”  The man just said, “Maybe good, maybe bad – too soon to tell.”

The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed many young men from the region, but the farmer’s son was spared; his broken leg prevented him from fighting. All the neighbors came by saying, “You are so lucky! Your son didn’t have to go fight”  The man just said, “Maybe good, maybe bad – too soon to tell.”

~Author Unknown

 

What if I stop judging myself and all my experiences? What  if I meet EVERY experience with the energy of, “Maybe good, maybe bad – too soon to tell”?

God already has everything under control, no matter how it looks in this moment. Maybe I should just open up and embrace the natural and inevitable duality of this world.

Can I stop judging and polarizing everything that happens to me? What if I allow my world to just be however it is today?   To allow is not polarized; to allow is a loose, easy state where I am open to possibilities. When I relax and allow my life to unfold, peace fills me. And balance follows.

——

Al·low    v.
          al·lowedal·low·ingal·lows

1. To let do or happen; permit
2. To permit the presence of
3. To permit to have
4. To make provision for; assign
5. To plan for in case of need
6. To grant as a discount or in exchange
7. Chiefly Southern & Midland U.S.

 

a. To admit; concede
b. To think; suppose
c. To assert; declare
(from http://www.thefreedictionary.com)