are you moving?

Last week when I was in Michigan for a few days visiting family, I had the experience of helping my son Ron and his family pack their possessions for a move to a new house.

This was not the first time, but I suspect it may be the last. I don't think they will be moving again anytime soon.

Moving can be such a pain. In fact, I felt like a hundred years old the next day! All that lifting and bending and pushing and pulling, etc. took its toll on my elder's body! I enjoyed the time with my family however.

It took many hours just to put all the stuff in the kitchen in boxes. And I know lots of people who have much more in their kitchens than they do. How do we manage to accumulate so much stuff? Why do we burden ourselves with so much more than we need, and complicate our lives with things are supposed to make them easier? Well, maybe some of them do, sort of. (Like blenders? toaster ovens?) But we could do very well without an awful lot of it.

I shudder to think of what moving my kitchen, much less all the rest of the stuff in the house, would be like after we have lived there over twenty years. We have accumulated a lot! One nice thing about moving is the opportunity to go through everything and get rid of a lot of it. And we have not done that for way too long. I think I will put that high on my list of things I want to get done in Michigan this spring and summer.

Actually, upon reflection, I think moving is less of a pain and has more profit in it than I had thought. For one thing, moving, I have found, makes me stretch and grow and push my comfort zone. I have to break old habits, create new ones, adjust to new surroundings, new people, and a different way of life in many ways. This gives me a wonderful chance to create new possibilities for my life.

The same is true internally. Its a good thing to move in terms of my mind, my soul, my spirit, as well as my body and external life. It is all too easy to get stuck in ruts and become all too comfortable when things stay too much the same over time. Sameness can lead to stagnation. In the retirement community in which we live in Arizona, I see that in the lives of some of our neighbors. Or at least, it looks that way from the outside. Maybe a lot of moving is going on in their inner lives. Who knows? I just know that I want to keep moving, even though I don't want to do that externally and literally right now. But I want to keep moving

in my inner life. I want to review some of the stuff sitting around in my mind and soul and ask if it really is something I still want, or whether it might not be a good thing to get rid of. I want to simplify some more, and get down to basics, and not burden myself with all kinds of memories, ideas, attitudes, and patterns that do not serve me and just weigh me down at this stage in my life.

How about you? Boxes, anyone?

Monks do it, dogs do it, maybe even you and I can do it

Meditation.....ah, yes. A word used far more often these days than a few decades ago.

Some people pray and meditate. Some people pray, but don't meditate, maybe because its too "New Age" or they tried it once and it "didn't work." Some people meditate but don't pray because prayer has not "worked" for them, or somehow meditating has more appeal.

But what is meditation? There are a lot of ways of defining it and doing it. And why might meditation (whatever it is) be a good idea for you or me or anyone?

Answers to these questions abound in books readily available online or in bookstores.

People who know much more than I do about it have written these books. There is a lot to be said about meditation, and they say it. A couple of books I have most enjoyed recently on the subject are:

Meditation Secrets for Women (by Camille Maureen) and Passage Meditation (by Eknath Easwaran)

But for my money, Maizey the dog is a presently my favorite teacher of meditation.

In the picture of her face looking at me(and the camera) she is doing what any form of meditation demands: focusing her attention. Nowadays, we far too often let our attention be divided, and so lose our focus, and life becomes more and more fragmented and hectic. Not good. Meditation is a good cure for this condition.

Notice that as Maizey sits in front of the fireplace, she gazes steadily into the flames as she relaxes her body. I have never before seen a dog do this for a significant length of time, as this dog does. She is quiet, calm, peaceful, and seems to be enjoying herself. That seems like a good example of how to meditate, doesn't it? Do it because you want to, because you enjoy it, in a relaxed, peaceful way that is perfectly suited to who/what/where/when you are. No rules here, no effort, no striving for a mystical breakthrough (enlightenment, or whatever) or anything else. Just sheer being and enjoying.

Watching her made me want to meditate in her way, at least as closely as I could, having the disadvantage of being a human with a busy mind.

Maizey is meditating in my brother and sister-in-law's peaceful, pleasant home, and she is gazing into flames. A peaceful atmosphere and a choice of focus as attractive as flickering fire do tend to help quiet the mind and relax the body, both of which are essential for meditation.

After I took this picture, I spent some moments meditating in front of the fire with Maizey, and her wonderful dog energy helped me enjoy the experience even more. When our meditation ended, I went out renewed and refreshed into the cold Michigan air for an afternoon walk.

Now I am back in Sedona, sitting in front of our fireplace here. Leo is sleeping on the rug, so its up to me to meditate by myself this evening. Remembering Maizey's example will help.

And I will keep up the daily practice of meditating because it always brings me back to basics

and centers me in the Fire of Divine Love and the Presence of Peace. And what's more, it is enjoyable, however I do it. Would you care to join me?

In a different light

Not long ago, John and I visited friends in Mesa, AZ, who took us on a tour of the beautiful Superstition mountains not far from where they live. It was a glorious sunny winter day, and the drive through the mountains was magnificent. At one point, we got out at an overlook, and took a little trail that wound to the edge of a bluff from which I took the pictures that I posted with this blog. What struck me as I reviewed them when I got home was that they were all taken from the same place, and during the same small time frame. Yet each picture was bathed in light of a different color. How did that happen?

This provoked me to ponder on the way we humans can see the very same thing in a different light than someone else. We can even see the same thing in a different light ourselves, if we adopt a different perspective or attitude towards what we are seeing. For example, a situation which may seem very troublesome and difficult, when seen in a different light, reveals itself as a marvelous revelation of important truths, or as an opportunity for growing in strength and wisdom. A person who seems to be a Big Problem, when seen in a different light, can be viewed as our best teacher. You get the picture!

These pictures also reminded me to be an observer of myself---of how I am looking at something, and in what light I am seeing it, and why. If someone else sees what I see in a very different light---that does not mean I am right and they are wrong. We just don't see something the same way. Should that bother me much?

A good spiritual exercise for me in this new year, I think, would be to see if I can see certain situations--especially rugged ones, like these mountains--in several ways, and become aware of what is coloring my viewpoints. That might be a challenge, but a worthy one.

What's your view about this?

changing things inside

Its a new year, and this year, rather than making new resolutions (infamously unsuccessful for most people, including me!) I have decided to do some rearranging inside my soul, as symbolized by some new things hanging on the wall in our little den in our Sedona house. (see pics)

First, there is the beautiful handmade quilted turtle hanging, given to me by my friend Eileen.

She has learned how to quilt in the last couple years, and this piece is truly a work of art.

Sometimes she has chosen to call me "Turtle Woman" and this hanging honors that name.

In some Native American traditions, the turtle figures as a main character in the creation story, our continent is called "Turtle Island" and turtles are symbols of fertility, and ancient motherly wisdom. In my mind, turtles bring back the story of the race the turtle won by being "slow and steady." I find that fits my aging body nicely! The pace of the turtle also reminds me of the spiritual benefits of deliberately slowing down so as to "smell the roses" and be more mindful of the wonder of the ordinary things in every day life, like how the light slants through the window to light up a room, or what a miracle running water is, or the faint fragrance of toast just popping out of the toaster. The turtle also is an example of the wisdom of withdrawing into one's own inner self and resources, and having very strong boundaries when attacked or under stress. And there is a time to emerge again, with a smile, and swim in the waters of beauty and trust, as the turtle seems to be doing in the hanging on the wall.

The "scroll" type hanging is a picture of Mary Magdalene from a friend who has a special love for her. This picture speaks to me of the beauty and radiance of the Divine Feminine now finally emerging into human consciousness more and more fully. I intend to enshrine this image and all it stands for in my soul, and let myself be guided more by the Spirit of Sophia in my soul and less by the received teachings of the mostly male religious traditions of the past.

It is time, I believe, for women (and men) to step more boldly out of the boxes of old dogmatic and confining thinking, and step onto the path of fresh Truth that is still being revealed by the Spirit of God, which is Universal and always stretches us beyond what we think we know. Too many of us have given far too much power and authority to the self-proclaimed "authorities" of the past, and not nearly enough to the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit within our hearts here and now.

A larger dreamcatcher also hangs on the wall now, close to the Dream Catcher tree, which some might think is a Christmas tree, based on old thinking! But it isn't and never was. It is a tree that stands in the corner by the fireplace all year, its branches hung with small dream catchers, and it is a symbol of the Tree of Life, which holds Godde's dreams for the human race and for the world and for each of us. It also holds the dreams I/we carry in our hearts, placed there by Godde to keep us stretching, growing, exploring, wondering.

So, in my soul, as well as in my house, there is change. I am swimming in the waters of beauty and trust, knowing my creative fertility; I am honoring and being guided by the Divine Feminine in my soul more fully; and I am dreaming bigger dreams, and paying more attention to them as well as to Godde's dreams for a new heaven and earth.

It promises to be a good year!

A Bright New Idea

Our daughter Rachel has been with us over the Christmas holidays, and has hatched a bright new idea for the new year which I want to share with you. She is starting a blog about trying something new every day for a year! She is going to do just that, and blog about her experiences. Her blog will include lots of pics and short film clips, and those of you who know her know that it will be very entertaining and lots of fun to check out. You might even want to join her (I do) in trying something new each day, and now and then letting her know your experiences and ideas. She would welcome that.

Just go to www.letsdosomethingnew.com and see for yourself what she is up to. I can vouch for the fact that she has been working really hard (okay, obsessively!) to get her blog up and running. We have been having fun brainstorming ideas of new things for her to try.

Another great idea Rachel gave me is based on the book (a Christmas present from her) titled "TWENTY NINE GIFTS: HOW A MONTH OF GIVING CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE" by Cami Walker. The author lives in Rachel's condo complex near the Hollywood Bowl in LA and Rachel met her pool-side one day and found out about her book.

It is a most inspiring story, written by someone who was suffering a bad case of MS, and found, to her amazement, that the simple act of intentionally giving in some way to someone every day was incredibly healing as well as rewarding. (See more about this at www.29gifts.org) I am thinking maybe I could combine the two ideas by giving in some way that would also be trying something new each day for a month. Even the effort of "29 gifts" would be a new thing to try for me, and maybe for you too. It sounds like a lot more fun than the usual list of New Years resolutions which seldom get carried out anyway.

I think we all do a lot of giving and trying of new things anyway, but we are not aware and intentional about it, and this just gives us the reward of greater consciousness. The secret of success in this effort is probably to keep it simple and realistically something we can and will do, in harmony with our self-knowledge. And if giving and trying something new expands our appreciation for ourselves, our lives, and others, that is great gain, and practically guarantees a Happy New Year.

Dreams come true

Is it just my imagination, or is the song "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" played out here more often than in Michigan? People here get a wistful look in their eyes when the subject of a white Christmas is brought up---a wistful look I seldom remember seeing in the eyes of a Michigander!

But, maybe the dreaming of a white Christmas paid off for the people in Sedona, Arizona.

At least for a little while, early this morning, the landscape looked like a classic Christmas card.

Snow on pine trees and roofs and streets! Even on big cactus plants and red rock mountains.

As I walked with Leo, the snow crunched beneath my feet, and the air had that fresh, cold, almost-fragrance of new-fallen snow. Even though Christmas is still a couple days away, it certainly made it seem present. When I got home, I put on my favorite Christmas music and sat gazing out the window at the snow-powdered scene as I listened, sipping a good cup of hot coffee, and feeling quite content.

The snow, of course, is surface stuff when it comes to Christmas. And sometimes its okay to just be on the surface of things, as long as I remember that surface snow/stuff melts away, like the snow did today. If there is something beautiful beneath it, that will be there. If there is something ugly, that will be there too. All the snow does is cover up, for awhile. And it leaves me with the question I invite you to ponder too. Is there something in my life, or yours, that is being covered up by the surface stuff, the "snow," which might be good to take a longer, deeper look at? Feelings that are coverups for unmet needs? Good resolutions buried under a surface layer of busyness? Surface religious practices hiding a big void? Surface smiles hiding a deeply buried sadness? Christmas sometimes has a way of "surfacing" such things, snow or no snow. And that can be a blessing. So-----white Christmas or no, merry or not, may it be a Blessed Christmas that goes a lot deeper in our souls than a dusting of snow.

Shadow of the Past

Have you ever thought much about your distant past? Your ancestors? Their lives? What they have passed on to you? I know that is not part of what I was taught growing up. I saw a few faded photos of great-grandparents, heard a tidbit or two from an uncle who had done some research into the family tree, and that was about all.

Since then, I have learned that in many cultures, down to the present, ancestors are a very important part of people's religion and spirituality.

A well known Buddhist monk writes that the first thing he does when he comes home after a trip is to go to his home altar, where there are pictures and symbols of his ancestors, and greet them. In China, in Africa, and many other places, ancestors are considered to be alive and important to relate to properly on a regular basis. They are simply in "another dimension" (whatever it might be called) but certainly not absent from the lives of their descendants.

I have gotten a better personal feel for "the ancestors" in my time out here in the Sedona area. This is an ancient land, and there are many places where the remnants of the ancient peoples who once lived here can be seen. There are scholars who agree that this is a place the ancestors of the Hopi people once lived. They left behind them ruins of their dwellings, rock art picturing what was important to them, shards of pottery, arrow heads, and such. They also left behind them the imprint of their spirits. It it is possible to feel their presence in certain places, like the one I visited yesterday, called Palatki.

I am not the only one who is deeply moved by the spirit I feel in the places they once lived in this area. The forest ranger who welcomed me to Palatki clearly felt what I felt as we shared our experience of the place. There is a very deep peace, a stillness that speaks to the soul, and a sense of mystery that defies words. As I was approaching one of the ruins of a house built against a cliff (pictured above) I felt an inexplicable sense of grief, and tears came to my eyes. Then I got a vivid picture in my mind of an old Hopi woman sitting in the door of the house-ruins at which I was looking. She was weeping, watching her people leaving to migrate northwards because of a prolonged drought in the area. She knew she would never see her loved ones again. And she also knew it was her sacred duty to stay behind and care for the land as she had all her life, doing what she could to tend and gather medicine plants, do sacred ceremony to honor the spirits of the land, and pray for rain and people to return.

I do not know how or why this vivid "memory" came to me, but it had a strong impact.

Maybe I have been in Sedona too long. Stuff like this happens around here. But no. I love being here, and I am willing to live with whatever mystery I encounter without having to figure it out or explain it away. Suffice it to say that I feel a new kind of connection with the ancestors who lived in this area.

I remember reading that Chief Crazy Horse, of the Lakota people in South Dakota, who fought a losing battle against the white man's encroachments, once was scornfully asked by a white soldier, "Where is your land now?" He stretched out his arm and pointed to the horizon in all directions and said "Wherever my people are buried." Yes.

My experience (and that of many others) is that certain places carry the memory of the Ancient Ones very strongly. Sedona is one of those places.