We cannot breathe. We are breathed. At best, we may gain control of our breath for a brief moment but, ultimately, it is beyond our sphere of influence. It comes and goes according to its own rhythm, and when it ceases, it is rarely because we have stopped it; in that precise moment, it has chosen to leave us, not us it.
So why do we imagine we can live our lives? It's a vestige of the more male-oriented, control-focused society in which we live.
May I suggest a more radical alternative? That we allow life to live us: that we surrender the illusion of control and, instead, move into the flow of life.
Consider this: did you choose the moment of your conception? Your birth? Did you know who your partner/s in life would be, when and where you would meet them? Or did it happen, almost as if by chance? Has your career followed the path you 'knew' it would? Do you live in the house and area you 'knew' you would? If you have children, did you control the moment of conception?! I know I have to answer 'No' to all those questions.
Life is more like a river that carries us than a building we must construct. It requires a soft hand on the rudder to feel into the ebbs and flows of the River of Life, so that we may notice the perfect place to stop and pause, as much as the right moment to launch forth into the rapids.
I sometimes think we get in the way of our lives with our obsession to make things/events/people be the way we want them to be. When we surrender control and begin to feel into life, with our hearts, with our intuition, then we are giving our Life centre stage, freeing it of the costume we think it must wear and allowing it to shine through us in all its glory.
Trying so hard may be trying too hard. Getting what we think we want may not be as enriching as getting what Life is seeking to give us.
We could try softening our need to control the rudder, and trusting that Life will indeed guide us, seamlessly, effortlessly, gently, every single time. Just as our breath breathes us, breath at a time... breath at a time... breath at a time.
Friday 2 August 2013
Tuesday 30 July 2013
The waves of change
Change unsettles us. As a species we are adverse to change, even if it is the only constant in your lives. Such is the irony of life!
The reason it unsettles us is because, up to now, we have approached change mentally. We have wanted to arrest it, to halt it, to avoid it or, at the very least, to understand it. In short, we have run at change with a giant full stop and we have been trampled by it. One may as well try to stop the seasons changing by simply standing still.
That was then; in this New Age, change is about wisdom not control, about power not force. Change is supremely malleable if we approach it with our hearts instead of our minds. This is how the surfer rides the surf; not by calculating the rate of descent of the wave, but by surrendering to the wave's dance and feeling into it, allowing herself to be carried by its vast energy. In that moment, surfer and wave become one. They are united, part of the same energy flow, each enriched by the other.
Nothing is stagnant. That was the old paradigm.
Fluid: that is the mantra of our times. From architecture to change management, it's all about the flow. From fusion cooking to international migration, it's all about the flow. The flow of life. The flow of ideas. The flow of energy.
Life's invitation is to move to its rhythm, rather than resist it. Life's invitation is listen within, to follow the gentle prompts of the heart, the moments of intuition and insight, as it whispers to us. This is how we dance with the wave of life, this is how we are constantly in the right place at the right moment.
Tuesday 16 July 2013
Beyond judgement
If you made one choice this lifetime, choose to accept yourself. Has fighting who you are really changed anything to date? Here's why...
Recently, a friend of mine went to an astrologer in India. After three visits, they found the parchment on which her life was written. Everything that had happened to her was, indeed, noted on that parchment: a parchment written over 3,000 years ago.
Every one of us has little moments, pockets of our lives that we would do differently if we could have our time again. But life is more complex than making the 'right' decisions at every moment. Just because we may regret something, or wish we had done it differently, or wonder why we acted so out of character in a particular situation (tick, tick, and tick again!) does not mean it was the wrong decision.
My friend learnt in her reading that some of her 'moments' were a rebalancing of karma; not so much debts that had to be paid, as experiences that were required to round out her experience of being a human, from her soul's perspective.
So rather than living a life of shame, regret and wasted dreams, how about a truly radical decision? How about assuming that life is conspiring in your favour? That the life you lead is the very best possible life for you, regardless of how it seems on the surface, regardless of the ego's whispers, designed solely to keep you tied to fear and shame.
The negative energy we have tied up in a lifetime's worth of fear and shame is more damaging than anything else we can do to ourselves, for judgements only come from incomplete knowledge; that is why God does not judge. Man judges. And each judgement is but a reflection of the holes we have within, the parts of ourselves that we can neither accept nor love. Until we do. Until we accept ourselves utterly, completely.
In that moment of complete self acceptance, judgement dissolves, and we accept all others. All of them.
Recently, a friend of mine went to an astrologer in India. After three visits, they found the parchment on which her life was written. Everything that had happened to her was, indeed, noted on that parchment: a parchment written over 3,000 years ago.
Every one of us has little moments, pockets of our lives that we would do differently if we could have our time again. But life is more complex than making the 'right' decisions at every moment. Just because we may regret something, or wish we had done it differently, or wonder why we acted so out of character in a particular situation (tick, tick, and tick again!) does not mean it was the wrong decision.
My friend learnt in her reading that some of her 'moments' were a rebalancing of karma; not so much debts that had to be paid, as experiences that were required to round out her experience of being a human, from her soul's perspective.
So rather than living a life of shame, regret and wasted dreams, how about a truly radical decision? How about assuming that life is conspiring in your favour? That the life you lead is the very best possible life for you, regardless of how it seems on the surface, regardless of the ego's whispers, designed solely to keep you tied to fear and shame.
The negative energy we have tied up in a lifetime's worth of fear and shame is more damaging than anything else we can do to ourselves, for judgements only come from incomplete knowledge; that is why God does not judge. Man judges. And each judgement is but a reflection of the holes we have within, the parts of ourselves that we can neither accept nor love. Until we do. Until we accept ourselves utterly, completely.
In that moment of complete self acceptance, judgement dissolves, and we accept all others. All of them.
Friday 14 June 2013
The Miscarriage Miracle
In life, it can be hard to see the perfection of painful events, or to feel the love, but I share this story because it reminds me that the soul's view of perfection is entirely different from our human idea of perfection.
Several years ago I had a miscarriage. It is painful emotionally and very painful physically. What had I done wrong? What could I have done differently? There were many questions alongside the grief and a feeling I can best describe as shame mingled with inadequacy. Several days later, and still in an enormous amount of physical pain, I had a Reiki treatment.
No sooner had the treatment begun than I felt as if I was floating towards the ceiling. I saw a ball of light approach me and I instantly recognised this light, this being: It was my child, and it was a girl. This is the message she gave me:
"Thank you. You were a wonderful mother. It's not your fault, that was all the time I needed."
I still remember the love that flowed from her, the joy and vitality. And the relief I felt; I had thought I had done something wrong, that it was my fault and she had paid the price. The truth was something more complex, inexplicable and utterly loving.
I have since read that some souls do not require 70 or 80 years on earth. They experience all they need to in 40 or 50 years, sometimes in just two or three brief years. And some just need to touch the earth for the briefest period.
All this is governed by the soul's divine knowing, not human desires, needs or fears. What have I learnt? To trust that what is unfolding in my life, no matter how challenging, is for the highest good. I can fight it, or I can work towards finding acceptance, peace and harmony with Life. Even the tough stuff.
Several years ago I had a miscarriage. It is painful emotionally and very painful physically. What had I done wrong? What could I have done differently? There were many questions alongside the grief and a feeling I can best describe as shame mingled with inadequacy. Several days later, and still in an enormous amount of physical pain, I had a Reiki treatment.
No sooner had the treatment begun than I felt as if I was floating towards the ceiling. I saw a ball of light approach me and I instantly recognised this light, this being: It was my child, and it was a girl. This is the message she gave me:
"Thank you. You were a wonderful mother. It's not your fault, that was all the time I needed."
I still remember the love that flowed from her, the joy and vitality. And the relief I felt; I had thought I had done something wrong, that it was my fault and she had paid the price. The truth was something more complex, inexplicable and utterly loving.
I have since read that some souls do not require 70 or 80 years on earth. They experience all they need to in 40 or 50 years, sometimes in just two or three brief years. And some just need to touch the earth for the briefest period.
All this is governed by the soul's divine knowing, not human desires, needs or fears. What have I learnt? To trust that what is unfolding in my life, no matter how challenging, is for the highest good. I can fight it, or I can work towards finding acceptance, peace and harmony with Life. Even the tough stuff.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Born of love
We are all born of Love. It is true whether we feel we were wanted or unwanted, whether life was easy or hard, whether our childhood was traumatic or idyllic. We were born of Love.
A child born of a rape may be argued to have been born out of love. But that is an argument of the human, not the soul. From the soul's perspective, that choice to incarnate in very difficult circumstances is a choice of love. It creates rich learning experiences for the souls involved in that Play of Life.
We have all, peppered through our lives, placed challenges, u-turns and upsets that we can't imagine planning, much less being excited about, but the most challenging events in our lives are the seeds to our souls' growth and development. They are portals for each of us to greater love, compassion, forgiveness and self expression.
There is not one random act on this planet. There is not one love-less action. Each and every event, no matter how challenging, has been planned with love and care to offer us the perfect opportunity to grow and expand into our greatest self: a human being ennobled by love, not embittered by fear.
We are not victims. Nor are we forgotten by God. We are artists of our own lives, inviting ourselves to remember the love and perfection inherent in every moment, in every action and in every outcome: the perfection of the love that is Us, our divine essence.
A child born of a rape may be argued to have been born out of love. But that is an argument of the human, not the soul. From the soul's perspective, that choice to incarnate in very difficult circumstances is a choice of love. It creates rich learning experiences for the souls involved in that Play of Life.
We have all, peppered through our lives, placed challenges, u-turns and upsets that we can't imagine planning, much less being excited about, but the most challenging events in our lives are the seeds to our souls' growth and development. They are portals for each of us to greater love, compassion, forgiveness and self expression.
There is not one random act on this planet. There is not one love-less action. Each and every event, no matter how challenging, has been planned with love and care to offer us the perfect opportunity to grow and expand into our greatest self: a human being ennobled by love, not embittered by fear.
We are not victims. Nor are we forgotten by God. We are artists of our own lives, inviting ourselves to remember the love and perfection inherent in every moment, in every action and in every outcome: the perfection of the love that is Us, our divine essence.
Sunday 9 June 2013
Touching the soul
Have you ever felt completely happy? Happy enough to burst, yet all you are doing is the washing up? Or driving to work?
These are moments of Ascension. Moments when our soul infuses our humanity, when we experience our divine nature directly, not through the nurture of a mother, nor the intoxication of first love. This is our intimate connection to Our Divine Self.
Recently, I've been experiencing some exquisite moments of expansion. Moments that were hours long, characterised by joy and love. The kind of love we all yearn for unconsciously, the complete love of the soul, the higher self, our Inner Angel. This is our divinity, lived.
As I've mentioned before, all inhabitants of this planet are now on a journey of ascension. This is the greatest evolution of our species since we came out of the water - and that was quite a while ago, so we're due! Even standing upright pales into insignificance in contrast with this evolution in humanity.
So what does it mean... Imagine a winding, dirt track, thronged with horses, carts and pedestrians. It's a tough route. That was our old connection to our soul: slow, constricted and gnarled.
Now imagine a wide, smooth high speed motorway. And you're the only car traveling that road. This is our new connection, our latest spiritual upgrade, so to speak. It is because the pathway is now so open and so clear that we are able to have increasingly intense and sustained experiences of our divine self. And one day, we will all live that joy, day in and day out.
But before that moment, there is a caveat. It's a new road. Sometimes, without realising it, we revert to the old dirt track simply because it's familiar. This is also part of the journey: noticing when we have slipped back into duality, into conflict, lack and neediness, and then consciously clearing those little pockets of darkness whether through yoga, meditation, prayer or any other alternative that works to shift us back to love.
Our soul has always been close, but these are exciting times because now we can touch it; we can live through our Soul rather than through our ego: we can live through love rather than living through fear.
These are moments of Ascension. Moments when our soul infuses our humanity, when we experience our divine nature directly, not through the nurture of a mother, nor the intoxication of first love. This is our intimate connection to Our Divine Self.
Recently, I've been experiencing some exquisite moments of expansion. Moments that were hours long, characterised by joy and love. The kind of love we all yearn for unconsciously, the complete love of the soul, the higher self, our Inner Angel. This is our divinity, lived.
As I've mentioned before, all inhabitants of this planet are now on a journey of ascension. This is the greatest evolution of our species since we came out of the water - and that was quite a while ago, so we're due! Even standing upright pales into insignificance in contrast with this evolution in humanity.
So what does it mean... Imagine a winding, dirt track, thronged with horses, carts and pedestrians. It's a tough route. That was our old connection to our soul: slow, constricted and gnarled.
Now imagine a wide, smooth high speed motorway. And you're the only car traveling that road. This is our new connection, our latest spiritual upgrade, so to speak. It is because the pathway is now so open and so clear that we are able to have increasingly intense and sustained experiences of our divine self. And one day, we will all live that joy, day in and day out.
But before that moment, there is a caveat. It's a new road. Sometimes, without realising it, we revert to the old dirt track simply because it's familiar. This is also part of the journey: noticing when we have slipped back into duality, into conflict, lack and neediness, and then consciously clearing those little pockets of darkness whether through yoga, meditation, prayer or any other alternative that works to shift us back to love.
Our soul has always been close, but these are exciting times because now we can touch it; we can live through our Soul rather than through our ego: we can live through love rather than living through fear.
Friday 7 June 2013
The illusion of perfection
The illusion of perfection is not that perfection does not exist. The illusion of perfection is that we fail to see the perfection that surrounds us.
We move at such pace that life rushes past our ears. And in our haste, we miss the perfection of every droplet of life. A slower life would bring to the foreground the miracles that abound every day, the miracles we fail to see.
Every day shows us perfection. Indeed, the sunrise and sunset are so unutterably perfect that we take them for granted, never considering a world without the sun. Yet it is perfection.
We take food for granted too. Even the water we drink. Yet all this is perfection, even if we choose to dismiss, disregard or even devalue these gems of perfection, debasing them as some form of 'given'.
There is perfection on an infinite number of levels, from the obvious - the flowers, the birdsong, the child's laughter - to the subtle, a friend's shoulder to cry on, a kind neighbour, a helpful colleague. Subtle perfection abounds.
There is also Invisible Perfection. That is the perfection of each and every moment of our lives. Every second, every breath, is crafted to bring us to a higher awareness of who we fundamentally are, of our journey to the highest expression of human evolution, the merging of our humanity with our soul energy.
We are showered in perfection. We are showered in miracles. Speed isn't always good, faster isn't always better. Sometimes it's just faster, but hollow, lacking the richness, nourishment and soul-infused joy of the gifts that truly matter, the perfection that abounds, if we would but see it.
We move at such pace that life rushes past our ears. And in our haste, we miss the perfection of every droplet of life. A slower life would bring to the foreground the miracles that abound every day, the miracles we fail to see.
Every day shows us perfection. Indeed, the sunrise and sunset are so unutterably perfect that we take them for granted, never considering a world without the sun. Yet it is perfection.
We take food for granted too. Even the water we drink. Yet all this is perfection, even if we choose to dismiss, disregard or even devalue these gems of perfection, debasing them as some form of 'given'.
There is perfection on an infinite number of levels, from the obvious - the flowers, the birdsong, the child's laughter - to the subtle, a friend's shoulder to cry on, a kind neighbour, a helpful colleague. Subtle perfection abounds.
There is also Invisible Perfection. That is the perfection of each and every moment of our lives. Every second, every breath, is crafted to bring us to a higher awareness of who we fundamentally are, of our journey to the highest expression of human evolution, the merging of our humanity with our soul energy.
We are showered in perfection. We are showered in miracles. Speed isn't always good, faster isn't always better. Sometimes it's just faster, but hollow, lacking the richness, nourishment and soul-infused joy of the gifts that truly matter, the perfection that abounds, if we would but see it.
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