Seeing like a child

I have just re-discovered one of my favorite authors/artists. His name is Brian Andreas. His words fill me with wonder and make me think. He can view the world with  a child-like quality that is both joyous and profound.  He makes me realize just how poorly that we, as adults, see and experience this amazing world around us. How long has it been since you lay on the grass and guessed at the shapes in the clouds? Or sat upon the floor and looked at things from the level of a 3 year old? Things become mysterious and magical when you change your perception of them. It doesn't take too much time to start again with this kind of thinking. You can start with something small,  like say,  giving your car a name. My mid-life crisis LeBaron convertible is named Wahoo! Something I stole out of the movie "IQ" with Meg Ryan. My daughter has an older Jeep Cherokee that she calls Jeepers, although sometimes I think Jeepers Creepers would be better due to all the trouble she has had with it. My husband (a very practical accountant type) calls his red truck, get ready for it, Red!  Now, I know some of you have already done this. Why don't you share it with us!

Caroline Myss on Chakras

Cosmic Seeds*

Magic Happens

While watching the Olympics, I saw an ad for the new Harry Potter attraction at Disney World. It looks exciting, and I wish I could go. I got to thinking how the excitement around all things magical in movies, books, and music is growing so much. I love this. BUT, and this is a big But, I think people have forgotten that we are all magical. Each and everyone of us is capable of creating and using magic. You scoff? Really? Do you cook? Is is not magical that you can take flour, sugar, salt, eggs, and a few other things, mix together, slap in a pan in a hot oven and.......VOILA! Cake!!!!!! Trust me, as someone who lived in the Rocky Mountains above 6,000ft for a lot of years, baking is not only magic, it is miraculous!! Or how about taking all those lovely veggies that you grew (another magical ability, I might add) and put them in a pot with your various seasonings and come out with a soup or a stew? When you cook with love and care, you are making magic. You are making something mundane into something that will nourish and enrich a body. Is this not the definition of a beneficial potion?
Ever had a massage, a really good massage? Got 'ya didn't I? Taking all that stress and tension that you have been hoarding in your body out and leaving you feeling light and relaxed, if that therapist isn't a magician, then who is?
Do you sew, craft, scrapbook, do photography, play or write music, write? If you do any of these things or any creative endeavor, you are creating something out of nothing, even if it is only memories. How about creating a character in a stage play? If you have been to the theatre you know the kind of magic I am talking about here.
I guess what I am getting at is that there is magic, and magicians, are all around us. There is even one hidden in you............

Have a go at it!

"The more you depend on forces outside yourself, the more you are dominated by them."
This puts me in mind of something that we all do. I have never encountered anyone who didn't do this. What is "this"? It is waiting for everything to be just right before you have a go at something. You know what I am talking about. All the good stuff has to wait while you get everything aligned properly. The "Oh, I am going back to school, take art classes, travel, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.........when the kids get out of school, when I am married, when I am retired, when I have more money. Get the drift? Been there haven't you? Maybe, you're even still there. And it doesn't have to be just one thing, in fact, when we do it we usually have a case of the multiples. If, as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens while you're living it" why aren't we doing these things that will make our hearts sing? There is never, ever going to enough time, money, or whatever. We just need to have a go anyway. OK, maybe you can't take that trip to Italy you have always wanted. Do something related. Learn to cook some really mean Pasta, learn to speak Italian, visit a museum or gallery that carries Italian artwork. Do you see where I am going with this? While you are busy DOING something that you care about, the Universe just might find a way for you to get plane tickets to Tuscany. And, just think, you'll know just what to eat and how to order it when you get there.
If you want to go back to school now is the time to do it. There is an unprecedented amount of financial aid out there. Got a computer, take on-line classes. That way you can keep your day job, while you learn.
Want to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby but the kids are still at home. I used to live in a neighborhood where us gals with small children took turns babysitting so that we could each have a Mommy Day off a few times a month. Or if the kids are old enough, get them involved, too. I mean, the family that plays together really does stay together. A few years ago, my oldest daughter and I (and I am no Spring Chicken, wait....I am getting a visual! LOL) took up Middle Eastern dancing together. It was a blast and something we will always share and made my gimpy hip work better.
So, stop with the excuses (I am most definitely talking to myself here, too) and do something. DO something that puts a smile on your face and a giggle in your heart. DO something that makes your feet dance or your mind expand. It is all up to you. Oh, and by the way, I give you permission to leave the dishes in the sink.

Forgiveness

As we enter this weekend of Love, I want to talk to you about what really needs to come first. Before you can be truly free to love someone else, you must love yourself. To love yourself, you need to forgive yourself. "What!" you say. Yes, forgive yourself. We all carry around those things inside us that what we have never forgotten, much less forgiven. All those regrets, big and small, that fester inside you, all those slights that made you mad or made you feel small, all that guilt for things left undone, behind, or unrealized, need to be purged. The way you do that is to forgive yourself. We don't realize just how much we beat ourselves up for stuff that we have done or haven't done. Forgive yourself for not standing up for yourself. Forgive yourself for only doing what you can do. Forgive yourself for those times that maybe you weren't as kind as you could have been because your day had turned to crap. Forgive yourself for all those stupid decisions you have made thru your life. As you give yourself permission to just be as you are, you will feel yourself getting lighter as your heart chakra opens. You will be able to breathe easier. The tension will leave your neck and shoulders. You will sleep better. Your digestion will be better. As you begin to forgive yourself you will find it easier to forgive others, and that releases a whole truckload of pressure and pent up stress and emotion. So this Valentine's Day, send yourself a valentine. "To me---I forgive myself. I love myself just the way I am. With love, Me".

Time

"Time is an invention. Now is a reality. So much creativity is happening for the simple reason that we have withdrawn ourselves from past and future. Our whole energy remains blocked either in the past or the future. When you withdraw all your energy from past and future a tremendous explosion happens. That explosion is creativity."-----Bhagwan Shree Rajnessh from "The Goose is Out"

We hear a lot about "living in the now". But, exactly what does that mean? How can we live in the moment when we are dealing with getting the kids off to school, trying to think what to cook for dinner, what bills are due and when? We are such a linear society. We put everything on a timeline.
These are some of the suggestions that I have found help me.
1. Get organized. If you are not running around always looking for what you need, you will have more time to get things done.
2. Make a list of the things that need to get done, break it down into manageable segments, put it somewhere handy and mark things off when they are finished. This does a few things. First it gets all of that minutia out of your head so you don't have to keep reminding yourself. Second, it is great feeling to take a magic marker and run a line thru a chore. You can actually "see" what you have accomplished. Don't make your list real general, either. Divide it up into smaller pieces, as instead of putting down "Clean house", list it room by room with each chore listed.
3. Most important---DON'T WORRY IF IT ALL DOESN'T GET DONE! You know what? It will all still be there another day. Really, no one is going to ground you.
4. Take time off, real time off. Walk outside, read a book, take a bath, play with the cat, dog, or child, anything that will take you away from all the everyday worry stuff.
5. Prioritse! And this is where it gets difficult for most people. Whatever you list holds, YOU need to go first.
If you are living in fear or anger, you are not living in the now. You are living in the past and the future, thinking about what wen down, went wrong, why, and what to do about it. When you find yourself in this place, just stop. Notice where your shoulders are at. Are they hunched over or tight and up around your ears? Ok, just relax them. Take 3 to 5 deep breaths, slow and even. If the feelings are still there, do it all again. Infuse your living space with the calm of lavender or invigorate yourself with any of the citrus oils.
You can do it. I know this because I manage to do it. Well, at least every now and then! LOL