Today would be a wonderful day to immerse yourself
completely in what is, to align yourself with what is
actually happening around you and what is heading your
way.

In this river of life, you are where you are.  If you
float looking backwards, yearning for opportunities
lost and events and relationships long past, you will
lose awareness of the current moment and what is
immediately ahead of you.  So right now, today, turn
around and consciously let go of the past.  Just let
it go.  For you see, you are moving forward no matter
what you do, and there is peril in moving forward
without awareness.

First, become aware of the current in the river.
These currents are opportunities to use the power of
life and circumstance with little effort on your part.
If you can sense a current, all you need to do is dip
down your arm as a tiller and gently relax into the
flow and it will propel you along with it.  Know, too,
that the force of a particular current can also be
used to propel yourself out of it, if you use its
force and then simply turn your tiller at the right
time.

So begin with this, the knowledge of where you are in
your life and the forces which are around you.  As you
do this, be certain to engage your center, your heart
of rightness, to feel the current.  It requires that
you let go completely of what you had wanted to be
true and instead come to understand what is true.  And
this is all known deep inside, if you will but stop
resisting the truth your own heart and center are
telling you.

And now, with a full awareness of what is, take a look
out to the immediate future.  See if there is a fork
in the river ahead and if one side looks more
desirable than another.  A few powerful strokes could
position you so that you are carried easily where you
wish to go.

And listen carefully as well.  Do you hear the rapids
approaching?  Can you make any choices to avoid them
or are you going to be carried to them, regardless of
what you do?   If so, prepare yourself by moving into
a state of relaxed awareness.  The way to go through
the rapids is to become one with the turbulent water,
to become so closely connected to it, that you are
reacting instantly and by instinct, not requiring
conscious thought.  Become so attuned that you are a
part of all that is, even though it was not what you
had desired.  It is what it is and this is what you
must respond to.  If you try to fight the current or
even cling to a rock, you will simply become worn
down, and when you eventually lose your grip, you will
not be strong enough to respond quickly.

Instead, let yourself be one with what is.  Do not
resist it.  The more you become one with what is, the
more your intuitive senses will take over and tell you
to twist and turn at the right moment to reach the
calm river on the other side.

And know, too, that the rapids never last forever.
Just do what you need to do now and know that there
will be an end to it, know that you will one day find
again a calm stretch of river, a time to roll over on
your back and gaze up at a few fluffy clouds as they
drift lazily across the sky, while you just relax and
regain your strength.

And after you drift for a while, then look around,
release your attachment to the rapids you have just
traversed and become aware of this new spot in the
river in which you find yourself.  Feel its more
subtle currents, become aware of what it contains and
where it is heading.

Yes, this is life, always changing, always
challenging, always an adventure.  Ah, how fortunate
you are!

Here is a little prayer for today

I am deeply aware of all that I am and all that
surrounds me.  I go deeply into a connection with life
and feel its flows, its currents.  I release all that
was and allow myself to be one with what is,
completely and peacefully.

I feel myself align with what is.  If feel myself
relax into a deep awareness of life, its
opportunities, its flows.

I am one with the great river of life.  I am peaceful
acceptance and a deep, relaxed awareness.  I am.

 

 

Mind Massage

 

Last week, I was in the mullygrubs big time........a friend, a Spirit sister, died earlier in the week. I never did call her while she was in the hospital this last time.......was waiting for her to come home before I called.........but she never did...........and that really pulled the rug out from under me.  She had been doing so well, we all thought she’d be coming home soon.  But I suppose her heart just wasn’t strong enough to pull her out of it this time.    

Friday night, I needed to be by myself, and since I’m too chicken to walk around the woods by myself at night, I went out on the porch, lit the tea lights that are interspersed among the plants and sat in the swing…….. felt like a cat in a hidey-hole, invisible to anyone driving by.  I could see them, but they couldn’t see me. That’s the way I like it

 

As I quietly sat in the swing, in my hidey-hole, just sittin’ and listenin’ to the sounds of the night, I let my Mind wander where it wanted, not giving attention to any particular thought, not trying to organize them into any rational pattern (some say I never do that to begin with). Whatever came to the surface, I gave it a cursory glance, then let it go, waiting for another thought to bubble up

 

As my mind wandered, my attention was drawn to the nighttime sounds around me---- “nocturnal orchestra,” as I call it.

 

I heard a Whip-o-will, somewhere close by, in the woods behind me. I focused on its repetitive song, wondering if it ever got tired of singing the same song each night

 

After a few minutes, I began following the rhythmic chirring of crickets, so I shut out the bird’s song, to listen in on cricket dialogue, wondering if their legs ever got tired of rubbing together to create their Voice

 

In the distance, I heard dogs barking, so I shut out the crickets to listen to the pitch of the barks, three dogs I discerned, mentally matching each pitch to what the dog might look like, wondering if dogs ever told jokes as they passed their messages through the neighborhood

 

I then became aware of faint, punctuated lows of cattle not too far away; I shut out the dogs to focus on the cows, wondering if their moos have a purpose all the time, or if they just make moo sounds because they’re cows, and wondering if you really can “tip a cow,” and if you can, does it hurt when they fall

 

After spending time selectively listening to each Nature sound, I widened my listening angle to hear all of them at once, in concert. Nature puts on a pretty good concert, if we take the time to listen.

 

Then, I began shutting each sound out, one by one, until I couldn't hear anything but the "white noise" in my ears

 

By the time I became aware of my surroundings again, I felt better……ready to participate in the here and now again.

 

I felt better about my friend's leaving this world.  I know she's happier, healthier and where she's always wanted to be----in the presence of Creator

 

Silently, I sent up a prayer of Thanksgiving to the night critters, thanking them for their counsel, when I needed Nature, not Man, to soothe my overburdened Spirit
 

I went inside, leaving the critters to the Wisdom of their Way