Creative Fuel for Personal Fire



"All of us carry a cleansing fire hidden inside. It may be banked with ashes, cold to the touch, but a spark of the divine is there nonetheless, ready to leap into life. It is nothing less than love of God. Latent in every one of us, it wants only encouragement before it flares to vibrant life, burning up everything selfish and impure. Once ignited and coaxed with the fuel of love for others, it sheds light and warmth all around."

Eknath Easwaran
Thought for the Day
Blue Mountain Center


As a youngster,  praying to God was acceptable, but if there was any real work to be done, we had to use an emissary such as a priest or minister or patron saint or angel to intercede on our behalf.  In 1983, Shirley MacLaine authored a book entitled, OUT ON A LIMB.  In this writing, one of numerous books, she stated that God was inside each of us and we could communicate directly with the Divine.  Many people labeled this concept as blasphemous.  They were not willing to eliminate the middleman, and claim their personal power.

Currently, it is hard to imagine not communicating directly to God, no matter what image of the Divine one uses.  There is much comfort in maintaining a personal relationship with the Divine.  We are much more apt to maintain awareness throughout our day if we both begin and end our day with Divine conversation.  Even throughout the day, as situations arise, one can automatically ask for Divine guidance. 

There is a great difference going from the status of ' infant born with original sin" like we are doomed before we even crawl or sit up to a spark of the Divine.  It is uplifting to believe we are a host carrying a bit of the Divine within us.  It gives us a sense of responsibility, to strive to honor that which lies within.  It can erase the phrase of denial, "I can't change," to "With God I can do all things!" 

Whatever we want to change we can, but involves a lot of hard work and repetition of lessons.  We will need to discard old patterns in order to prepare for the new.  As in all things, change takes time ... trial and error.  We must extend compassion to our selves and be patient.  Choose healthy ways to support efforts.  Use a journal to express frustration.  Engage in a friendship that encourages and celebrates the journey.  Keep adding kindling to the inner fire!

As we discover how difficult, but possible, it is to change, we may have less judgement and more respect for others.  We may realize we all have our struggles and we all strive to do better. Understand we are loved just as we are, but this is no reason to not try to be better.  So add some creative fuel to our personal fire as we create a better life for our selves, community, and world.

A Good Day After All

“The most incredible architecture
Is the architecture of Self,

which is ever changing, evolving, revolving and has unlimited beauty

and light inside which radiates outwards for everyone to see and feel.

With every in breathe
you are adding to your life
and every out breathe you are releasing what is not contributing to your life.
Every breathe is a re-birth.”

Allan Rufus

The Master's Sacred Knowledge

The sky is an ugly gray.  It is cold out. There is no prediction for sunshine.  It is too late to go back to bed and too early for a nap.  I am completely unmotivated.  I decide to ignore the growing stack of laundry and allow the dust to gather yet another day. 

After running through a self-assessment, I know in my heart  I will accomplish nothing today.  So I decide to create a sacred space to do nothing in.  I start a fire in the fireplace, gather candles, and my favorite old quilt.  I fill a basket with books ... Rumi, Hafiz, Gibran; old dream journals;  Kubler-Ross, Moody, Weiss; Tolle, Braden, Nepo, Cohen;  and my current journal with a new purple ink pen.  I complete this space by adding  bottled water, a fresh carafe of coffee and a stash of snacks.

Once settled, I extend a prayerful invitation for others to come and join me in my newly created sacred space.  I request energy, love, and light accompanied by wisdom and insight.  My heart then opens wider to allow my self to change, evolve, and grow. 

I feel purposeful and content to experience my created day.  I realize we some times need to just stop and carve out a place for our sacred self to be nurtured, revitalized, and safely grow.  My heart is warmed by the gathering in front of  my fireplace ... kindred spirits, angels, and some  I don't know.  I find my self excited as it turns out to be a good day after all.

Fish Out of Water

 

 

 

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

~Nelson Mandela



My last trip to Maui was a month long spiritual journey.  Revelations greeted me at every turn and a sense of euphoria filled my life each and every day.  Although I experience Key West in a different way, I arrived here anticipating additional spiritual break throughs.  I felt prepared to open my heart and mind to thoughts to propell me farther along my spiritual path.


With every transition, change is present and we best be prepared to go with the flow.  Nearly a month ago when we arrived at a lovely little rental house in Old Towne, I was fully prepared for adventure and discovery.  Little did I know my awareness would reveal I had arrived at my destination which happened to be my inner self.  My imperfect inner self.


Instead of soaring above the ocean like an eagle in the sky, I remained grounded in observations of gaping holes I needed to mend.    Why are we always surprised to discover we have traveled near and far only to arrive at the starting point once again.   The difference is I now know the way to go, which paths to take, as I have traveled it more than once before.


As I wander the familiar streets and favorite places, I am aware of just how much I have changed since I was last here.  I am proud of who I am today, and grow increasingly aware of who I have always been.  I believe this search of meaning in life is simply a matter of swimming deeper and deeper within our own waters.  We develop the ability to shed more and more of what we no longer need, and learn to swim with the current. 


My nature is to grow increasingly comfortable while in the water.  I float, swim, and dive in the rolling waves.  What is there not to enjoy?  There is such a sense of cleansing, of washing away the heaviness of life, and hearing only the silence of  the liquid surrounding the body.    I find myself to be light hearted and buoyant, not wanting to be the old fish  spit out by the ocean onto the sand.   I don't want to be just another fish out of water.

 



Psychological Resistance

 

 

 

 

Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is... The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.

 

Dan Millman 

 

 

 

There is much in life we resist, primarily change that could possibly alter our comfort zone.  We like to feel safe as we can feel more creative and exploratory.  When unknown change abruptly appears, we meet it with resistance rather than facing what it brings. 

 

Even when the change has been initiated by our own merits, there is some element of risk.  The change may even be welcomed, but there will be a small part of us lingering in the familiar with the slightest resistance.

 

Resistance can be based in fear and lack of trust.  In life, change is a constant teacher.  The greater the resistance, the more complex the lesson becomes. We can strive to face change with an open heart and not simply react out of fear.

 

Every morning upon awakening, we can ask Spirit to help  us be alert to the challenges brought to us.  We can trust what is brought to us means us no harm, but deeper understanding of our selves and the world.  This does not mean condoning every change, but pausing to make decisions without fear.

 

Greeting life with resistance rather than trust keeps us in choppy waters instead of being in the flow.  It is like  trying to swim up stream, going against the current, and avoiding what will only resurface another time.  Resistance makes life more difficult and we are not as capable of remaining in alignment with body, mind, and spirit. 

 

We are referring to psychological resistance, not physical.  Psychological resistance is a choice based in fear.  Feelings that surface are often rooted in our past from other experiences.  These unresolved emotions from the past can easily distort our present reality.  This is why there is great importance in living in each moment ... not the past, and not the future ... in the present moment.

Daunting

History repeats itself, and that's one of the things that's wrong with history.  ~  Clarence  Darrow

Once again, I am spending time with journals written in 1924 stemming from the first half of the twentieth century.  The writings reflect experiences while in the presence of Masters of the Far East.  Topics are about the illusion of time, healing, manifestation, and our relatedness to each other and to God.

As I read these old texts, the messages are easy to understand as it would seem the material is also found in many current writings of our own time.  There are common discussions about evolving, the end of the world, and the necessity for balance with the body, mind, and spirit.

Truth, it would seem, survives time and place.  Truth is spoken in all languages in all lands in the hearts of all men, women, and children.  Why is it then that unhealthy competitiveness, lack of respect and threats of war continue to recycle throughout history?

Is it possible that we as human beings evolve without making the necessary changes?  Can we become enlightened and yet not follow through with significant changes?  These possibilities, for me, are daunting ...

Brief Departure

We are sometimes as different

from ourselves

as we are from others.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

No matter how well we think we know ourselves, the element of surprise can catch us off guard.  In certain situations, things can trigger a response from us that is foreign to our very nature.  We find ourselves saying things like, "I don't know what came over me," or "I don't know what I was thinking!"

The brief departure from who we normally are could be an unusual indulgent purchase or a cutting remark escaping from generally sweet lips or skinny dipping on vacation.  The uplift in our routine can be caused by a spiritual transition or a financial windfall.  On the other side, we may experience a dramatic downward change from the loss of a loved one or decrease in financial stability. 

No matter how great or how small the dent in our own self-image, it is a matter of change.  In order to flow with these changes, we must not be rigid in our thinking and or actions.  If we can be flexible in thought, word, and deed, we create the opportunity to stretch and grow.

If we truly monitor ourselves, we easily recognize our drifting and can adjust our course accordingly; however, if we are not paying attention, we may discover ourselves way off course with out a clue as to how to get back.

Like the trees, we learn to bend in a breeze rather than snap in a storm.  Nurturing ourselves strengthens our roots with relationships and our changing world.  Being gentle enables us to accept our true selves no matter how we are in the moment.