On stillness…..

More stream of consciousness…bear with me as I oil up my writing chops again:)

I’ve decided and it was reinforced during a reiki session, that I have to limit my news/internet/bullshit.  It’s causing me suffering and making me angry and agitated.  It’s also clouding my thinking.  I need cleanliness and clarity in my brain.

The election was a perfect example of allowing pollution into my third eye.  I KNEW that it didn’t matter who won and that my vote was inconsequential.  Turns out my intuition was correct because I did end up casting a ‘hold your nose’ vote for HRC and she lost.  HA!  If that’s not a reinforcement to listen to my guides, then I don’t know what is.

NOBODY thought she would lose.  NOBODY.  And yet, it was the fates slapping us down, blowing up conventional wisdom and within my soul and my deep knowing, I was correct.  I knew this was going to be a disruptive election. I felt it coming for a few years and I should have just walked my path and allowed.  But, I was influenced by the buzz, the spin, the hysteria surrounding this whole evolution.

I knew it and felt it months, no, years ago.  This is why I need to limit my consumption of this addictive brew of junk that is swirling.  It’s no difference than how I feed myself food:  No factory farmed meats, mostly organic, as local as possible.  I avoid toxins as best I can and yet, I allow them into my eyes, ears, psyche and heart.  What goes in, comes out and if we nourish ourselves properly, we are clean and clear and able to function optimally; physically, spiritually, emotionally.

During reiki this week, I was told by one of my spirit guides “Don’t underestimate the power of being still”.  Yes.  Stillness is where we find ourselves, our essence, our authentic soul/spirit.  There is no other way.  The constant drumbeat of media, internet, anger, outrage, with so much of it based on lies, is damaging to us.  Damaging to our collective psyche and energy.  We need space and silence and time to process the sensory stimulation of modern life.

When I was working, I had a very distinct and rigid routine every morning: wake up, brush teeth, let dogs out, get a cup of coffee, head to basement, prepare for morning radio show, 20 minutes of yoga, 20 minutes of meditation and GO!

I’ve lost that discipline and I miss it.  I have Saturn in Capricorn, so  a routine and even rigid boundaries around diet, exercise, discipline, even restriction, appeal to me.  My life is sloppy right now.  Not horrible, not tragic, but sloppy because I’m not doing what I need to do to function optimally and it’s like dragging a rock around.

But, that is me.  Everyone has to find that groove; the one that makes you feel like you’re powerful and lubricated and engaged. Maybe that’s playing music or painting or long walks or reading or cooking or just sitting with a beautifully fragrant candle.  It’s all about disconnecting with the chaos of modern life and re-connecting with the stillness within all of us.  It can be so hard to find.  But, it’s there.

We make life so much harder than it needs to be, by the stories we tell ourselves.  That old nemesis of awakening and enlightenment, The Human Condition is a tough one to wrangle into submission, eh?  Why have we allowed our lives to devolve into such an unnatural place?  Stillness will light the way out.

I was wrong. So, very wrong….

I’m embarrassed. And I was wrong. There, I said it.

Words that Mr. Donald Trump would never allow to escape his lips. Which brings me to the subject at hand: I gave Trump the benefit of the doubt. Even though I would never vote for him, I honestly thought he would moderate some of his nuttier comments and I was wrong.

The events of this past weekend show that he is, indeed a dangerous man. He is appealing to fear and anger and our basest and most destructive emotions.

At this point, it seems impossible for anyone to support him and yet, he’s drawing crowds and votes.

I keep reminding myself that I’ve seen a revolution on the horizon and that I know this kind of turmoil must happen in order to move forward and transform our country. This undercurrent of anger and hatred and fear and bigotry and aggression has been building for years. I’ve said it before: we are a violent and aggressive country and culture.

Trump has tapped into that and has emboldened some people to hate their fellow Americans. He is inciting people to actually act on this anger and hate and it’s very dangerous. For us and for the candidates. But, it’s probably a necessary evil and is part of our cultural cleanse that we need. Let this stuff see the light of day. Look at it closely, then look in the mirror and see how you may be contributing to this division.

We are in a pivotal moment where courage and integrity are of paramount importance; from all of us. We like to blame Washington, D.C., the politicians, the immigrants, the minorities, the gays, the women, the men, the rich, the poor, the aliens…they are us. We must stand up and examine our beliefs, our actions, our words. Don’t call Trump voters names, but rather, lead by example. Stay calm, focused and summon up what you know, in your belly, is right and just and good. We are all Americans. We are all humans trying to make our way on a troubled and complicated planet.

Simplicity is called for: Be kind.

Don’t Know Mind

2016 is the year of the purge; a time to cleanse. Every astrological, metaphysical and spiritual video/newsletter/blog that has shown up in my inbox over the past week has reiterated this same theme. It’s the year to leave some wounds behind and get your shit together. We can’t build anything new, until we expunge the old. Shred it, smash it, burn it. Just do it.

I’ve recently gone back to reading some things with the Buddhist tone or theme that awakened me 5 or 6 years ago, as I began to re-shape my life and my reactions to my life. The overriding theme of Buddhism, to me anyway, is that we cause ourselves and others so much pain by our lack of honesty and clarity. We cling to what “should be”, rather than what is. In Buddhist terms, that is called suffering.

We do it all day, every day. Because we are humans. Because we live in our minds and we make up stories about how other people should behave. We judge, we criticize, we rant, we argue. In some horrible instances, we shoot, we stab, we blow up, we murder or sanction murder via our leaders and governments. All in pursuit of our need to control what “should be”.

Painful, isn’t it? Yes. And it affects our personal health, both physical and emotional, our global health and obviously, our spiritual health, which some believe is actually beginning to come back from the dead, despite so much evidence to the contrary on the 24 hour news channels.

Accepting ‘what is’ and letting go of ‘what should be’ is one of the greatest paths to clarity. At least it has been for me. Now, I’m not saying that I don’t suffer and rage, just like you. I do, but I’m more and more able to arrest it more quickly, thanks to meditation and practice.

One of the most obvious ways that we suffer from ‘should be’ syndrome is with politics. We are all so invested in the outcome of elections that we fight and argue and call the other side awful names and in too many cases, expunge those who disagree with us from our lives or our Facebook friend list.

I’m not voting in the Presidential election this year. I’ve been lectured, I’ve been cajoled, I’ve been criticized and called selfish for this decision. I’ve been told, “well, then you can’t complain if you don’t vote”. Really? Watch me.

Here’s why I’ve made this choice: Every 4 years, we choose teams and then we fight and we name call and we invest a lot of time advocating, often with great hostility, for our team. It’s painful and frustrating and time consuming to go all in for one candidate or the other.

Then, we have an election. Half of the people celebrate. “We won!!”. The other half are bitterly disappointed. “Our lives will be horrible, now”. Neither is true. So, again, we are living with what “should be”, rather than “what is”.

The losing team, now spends the next 4 years berating, complaining and hoping for complete and utter failure of the winning team. There is no compromise, no tackling of problems or working toward solutions. New problems and crises arise and the losers complain bitterly that it’s all the winners’ fault.

The winners refuse to see that there might be some credence in the philosophy of the other side. That the losing team might have some good ideas. “Elections matter. We won. You lost. SHUT UP.”

Sound familiar. Sound painful and non-productive and silly?

We are all too invested in outcomes. We all just want to win and be right and then rub the losers’ noses in it. Nothing really changes. Nothing gets solved and it is a vicious, every-4-years cycle that I choose to remove myself from.

I honestly don’t care who wins. I have to live my life regardless of who is elected as the Leader of the Free World. So, why invest? I have to deal with ‘what is’ after an election. Period. This is referred to as “don’t know mind”. In other words none of us can ever predict an outcome with any accuracy at all, so why try? Any one of those running could be a great leader or a horrible one. We just don’t know, do we?

Think about some instances in your life that seemed tragic or painful or catastrophic, that actually resulted in a decent outcome or at the very least, some personal growth. I was fired from several jobs. In that moment, it was horrible, but I ended up in better situations.

I suffered some very painful losses of loved ones over the course of a short time and yes, it was extremely painful, but I’ve had a spiritual growth spurt thanks to that shock.

We honestly have no idea of the consequences of any action. Embrace that, open up to it and begin to let go of the ‘should be’ and live with ‘what is’.

So, what if we just remain open to whatever arises? What if after the election we accept the outcome and accept that we have no idea whether it will be good or bad? Because it will be; good and bad and calm and chaotic and scarce and abundant. That is life. Accept it for what it is. You will adapt, you will change, you will be forced to.

And that’s okay. Nobody is right or wrong.

Life has a way of making us face reality anyway. Might as well be two steps ahead, eh? Embrace the ‘know nothing’ mind. Be free. Surrender.

A girl can dream…

 

And so it’s arrived; election day 2012.  I’m not sure what I’m more excited about; finally seeing who wins or being able to peruse Facebook without getting banged in the head by outrageous, insulting posts about “the other guy”.

Here’s what I propose on the eve of either retaining our current President or beginning a new administration.  Stop with the reasons the other guy/party sucks.  Give both candidates a few props.  They are both well-educated, accomplished men.  You may disagree with them on certain (or for some, ALL) issues, but they’ve both fulfilled aspects of the American Dream.

Put aside the snarky political spin about the end of life as we know it, should one or the other be elected.  Stop picking apart every sentence they utter.  Look at their lives as something to be admired and yes, respected.

Both are well-educated via elite institutions.  Both went out and did the hard work necessary to find themselves vying to be leader of the free world.  Both seem to be stellar husbands and fathers.  Their life experience is probably a little different than yours, but it doesn’t make it invalid.

I’ve heard so much bitching and complaining about what a rotten choice we have this year to lead our nation.  That’s unfair.  They took risks; they put their reputations and lives out there for all to see and endlessly dissect.  They have achieved vastly more than most of us Monday morning quarterbacks who sit on our couch clutching the remote, trashing them.

I get it.  Tomorrow at this time, there is an excellent chance that about 49 percent of us will be feeling emotions ranging from disappointment to blind, white rage about the results.  The other 51% will be tempted to taunt and do a victory dance.  Try a little tenderness; on both sides.  Let it sink in.  Don’t take it personally.  The sun will rise in the east and we’ll march on as a nation.

Look, I know that politics is a dirty, corrupt business.  Quite honestly, I’m agnostic about this election, which could be why I am so piously lecturing about remaining calm as we see the results of the most expensive campaign of all time.  But, I find myself in a place of relaxed pragmatism; one guy has to win and we all have to live with it. Period.

The past few months of this election have been painful to watch as friends, families and co-workers have chosen sides.  Politics has become a blood sport and it’s easy to get sucked in.  There’s an epidemic of bruised relationships over a couple of guys that really don’t have a personal stake in our lives.  Honestly, WE are in charge.  Let’s take back control and make an attempt to accept the results.  We’re better than the campaigns think we are.  Aren’t we?