Greetings, from my Heart to your Heart…This edition of Love In Action: It’s All Part of the Plan 2020 is about looking inside and honestly inquiring.
There’s room for every question AND every answer!
These may be the most inspirational videos I’ve ever seen! Be patient with the download. Bring the cursor back to the beginning to get the full presentation intact.
https://www.facebook.com/quicktake/videos/2182283388744887/
Check this out! A bit “crazy but… In perfect Balance. Working with a strong partner. Totally in sync. BEAUTIFUL!
Events at Stillpoint Yurt
1. March 24th, Tuesday at 6pm New Moon in Aries: beginning our 7th Year of New Moon Gatherings at Stillpoint! Start something new that really supports your happiness! JOIN US!!
2. Embracing Your Emperor collage retreat (women only) coming in April. contact Gi for more info gi@paradigmshifting.net
You may be seeing a pattern to the choices we are facing as a species: one of the main ones is, “What do we believe in?” Before you head down the rabbit hole of your mind, I’d like to focus this inquiry, not on the details and specifics of “what” it is you believe. But rather ask, “What is the manner in which you choose your beliefs?” For example, do you believe what authorities (parent, boss, teacher, church, doctor, government) tell you is true; do you believe what you can see (i.e. “seeing is believing”); are you contrarian and believe the opposite of what others say you should believe; or maybe you have your beliefs and that’s just the way it is— end of discussion.Have you considered any of this?
Here’s an excerpt from a Lion’s Roar post that brings this inquiry home. Where does it take you?
It concerns a recent discovery of some texts that turns the foundation of Buddhist teachings on its ear. And the discussion below is a Now What? opportunity within the Buddhist community. But for our purposes, it takes us to perhaps the biggest question for humanity at this time:
What is a Buddhist to do? (aka, What is a Human to do?) Returning to the question of what, if anything, these discoveries mean for modern Buddhist practitioners, there are no answers that will appease everyone. Each individual practitioner must determine how to proceed for him or herself. On one hand, one can safely ignore the new material without missing anything essential to the theory or practice of Buddhism. On the other hand, Buddhists may wish to dip a toe—or even plunge headfirst—into these previously uncharted waters. Modern Buddhists may be inclined to see the diversity that characterized Buddhism throughout its history as an emblem of strength rather than cause for doubt or confusion, a source of richness rather than conflict. The insights that the Gandharan manuscripts provide into the wealth and variety of thought and belief during a formative stage of Buddhist history, and the perspective they provide on the overall question of what Buddhism is, offer personal enrichment for those who seek it out.
And here’s Anne Lamott following upon that…
| Glimpses of Awakening |
| Watching the mind that suffers, we make a surprising discovery. The neurotic storylines and dualistic thinking that cause us so many problems are not continuous or solid. In the gaps we notice moments of clarity, wakefulness, and peace. Enlightened mind turns out to be very ordinary and present. |
| Unlike the Buddha, most of us simply want to avoid the reality of suffering, and we cook up all sorts of strategies to get around it. If we are searching for spirituality, the world of suffering is the last place we want to look. We would rather fantasize about realms of love and light far removed from the raw nature of our experience. But in order to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha, instead of feeding further fantasies and speculations, we need to go back to square one. We need to look directly into the nature of our experience, to look within, and by doing so awaken from the illusions that entrap us. |
Here’s a beautiful and paradigm shifting video for you! (courtesy of Will B.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-9zzXuZ2h4
| Daughter of light! thy fairy step Steals softly over vale and plain, And with thy bright and joyous smile, Beauty and life awake again. ~ Mary Ann H. Dodd Shutts Photo by Lisa Maie Roeder | Monarchs at the Monarch Grove in Pismo Beach, California |
Sharing this heart-open, wise perspective with you from Karen L… (and be sure to watch/listen to the beautiful Music at the very bottom of this email.)
It’s the simple things that help when I feel the overwhelming sense of loss these last three years have brought me – Geoffrey, my father-in-law; Kelsey, my granddaughter; my Dad and Kristi, my sister. I know loss is inevitable and my deep grief is the flip side of my deep love for each of these special beings but damn those words don’t help right now.
What has helped is my practice. Sitting in solitude and quiet contemplation, staring out the windows, sometimes for hours. I can trace the branches of nearby trees, see the new buds turn into shimmering leaves, change colors, die and fall to the ground. Perennials and bulbs poking their heads up, brightening the garden, foliage eventually dying, cutting everything back until rich, black soil hides all trace of them until the following spring. The pond in the orchard fills with water, thousands of croaking frogs arrive singing me to sleep and greeting me in the morning, eventually drying up leaving a lone willow in a deep, dry hole in the ground. Birds singing and flitting about, eating worms in the spring, sunflower seeds in the summer, hummers sipping nectar, all of them bathing in the pond that is outside the other window of our bedroom, the bubbling gurgle of the water running down the rocks. In the months when I can open the window the sound soothes me. Beautiful sunrises, winter gray skies, rain hitting the roof, misty mornings, bright sun sparkling on snow, summer skies, bright blue and filled with fluffy clouds, a sun that makes me squint while sitting in my chair in the bedroom. This is my sacred space, where I sit, watching, smiling, crying, reflecting, remembering.
My view is different right now, sunrise over the Downs, ocean waves, blustery wind, gray, gray, gray skies, squawking sea gulls, the chalk cliffs and the sun setting into the ocean in the evening. My morning contemplations remain the same and for the time being this is my sacred place.
This grief will last forever, its intensity will ebb and flow and soften over time but as long as I am here to witness the seasons, feel the wind blow, the rain fall, the sun shine, the birds sing, my beloveds will live inside me.
Beyond Music: