Celebrating the wonders of all things natural!

Posts tagged ‘love’

Cosmic Rainbow Connections & Grateful Miracles

Sometimes plans don’t turn out the way you expected, and sometimes miracles happen, and we’re surprised.

Such was the case on last weekend’s trip to take my kids to the Fare Thee Well Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary concerts in Santa Clara. First change was kids turned to kid as my son announced he couldn’t go b/c of work, and b/c he didn’t want to listen to a bunch of old people playing music. Since he’s 17, I obliged and left him home.

My 14-year-old daughter and I made it to the concert with time to spare, after a grueling drive and battling with parking and coordination issues. On the drive up I felt so much excitement about the idea that popped into my mind to give someone a “miracle” with my extra ticket that I’d bought for my son. Selling the ticket didn’t fill me with the joy thinking about giving a miracle did. So we stood outside the entrance as people milled around and I looked for someone who needed a ticket. For anyone who doesn’t know, at every Grateful Dead show, people walk around holding one finger in the air saying, “I need a miracle,” which translates to a free ticket into the show.

A couple walked by me pushing a stroller with two young kids, and, oh my G! “Trinity?” I said to the guy with the long beard and soulful eyes. How amazed was I to see my old friend from Kauai, with his wife, Mary Martha, and 2 kids! I hadn’t seen him in probably 15 years, and there he was, beard, family and all! Talk about cosmic connections…

Soon after, a cute young girl with dark hair walked up with her finger in the air. I made eye contact with her and handed her the ticket. Perfect timing. We walked in to the tune of Uncle John’s Band. “Wo, oh, what I want to know, is are you kind?”

Hundreds of roses were set inside the entrance, so we gathered some. Wending our way to our section through the dancing crowds, a girl said to me, “My name is Rose.” Of course, I gave her a rose.

As my daughter and I made it to our seats and sat down at long last, we listened to the music, which I realized the next night, seemed more of a warm up jam to the familiar songs we know and love. I was run down, sick with a bad cold and just basically exhausted. My daughter had a headache, said the guitar was too loud and was giving her a headache and there was too much smoke. Feeling a little low about the scene, all of a sudden, I looked toward the sky. A beautiful, brilliant and vibrantly colored rainbow arched across the sky above the stadium. rainbow

As more and more people began to notice it, the cheering reached a crescendo and the spirit and energy I remember from that crowd rekindled.

What a feeling of joy and elation that filled the air, and all of our hearts, as that rainbow, amazingly, surprisingly appeared to grace our gathering of almost 65,000 loving souls. Miracles abound, and in the words of my favorite band, “I need a miracle everyday!”

It was the epic beauty of nature that evening that stole the show and won our hearts, uniting us with nature’s awe-inspiring spirit, through the rainbow connection and a light-filled sunset. This is truth, beauty and love.

On the drive home, a patch of rainbow appeared in the wide open sky above us. “Mom,” said my daughter, abruptly and a little too loudly, as she was listening to her own music with her headphones on. “Is it just me seeing it, or is that a little rainbow?” I joyfully saw it too, and it seemed to expand as I drove along the open road. It stayed above us for a couple hours, to my joy and amazement, giving me comfort and connecting me to the cosmic mystery in a colorful, peaceful and miraculous way that I could not have planned if I tried. So Grateful.

sunsetroses

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Forces of Nature ~ Reeling in the Real

I love Joseph Campbell, influencer of Star Wars’ George Lucas and a student of Carl Jung, he just has this incredible way of putting into words life’s many esoteric mysteries… and I love how the Universe once in a while “shows us the light in the strangest of places when we look at them right”…

As this angstful eclipse energy – and Mercury retrograde too – ramps up emotions so that they’re spinning intensely, keeping our balance while riding these waves of seismic activity is an art.

Campbell (and yoga) help me find that sweet spot, hidden in the barrels of the rolling waves, without being crushed when they crash, by shedding light on and making sense of our emotions to make it easier to understand and reflect on why they are what they are. In his “Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion,” Campbell writes about a certain male fish that has a dark upper body and a light lower body, so that he is camouflaged and safe from danger when looking up or down at it. But… and here’s the good part:

 “When this particular fish is in love, his color shifts so that he’ll be visible. This puts him in danger, you see, and it seems to be symbolic of this love thing. You give up self-protection when this other comes along and you are seized with erotic compulsion.”

Despite the risks, fish do not control their natural instincts so that they can stay invisible and safe. No, without even thinking about it (probably), they change colors and take their chances.

While we humans can often learn some lessons from nature, we still get to decide if we’re going to go with the flow of our instincts or play it safe and resist these forces of nature.

While we never know where love will go, if we don’t try, we’ll never know (someone said; I’m saying it today, and others have said it before, like Smokey Robinson and The Miracles and, of course, the Jerry Garcia Band):

What are you fishing for? And, even more, when you catch it, can you reel it in and keep it real, without killing it?

Awe-sometimes (winter post… post-winter!)

[Somehow this stayed a draft and didn’t publish… nice to read it from the summery perspective of June!]

 

It’s November. The squash vine is dried and dead, and the bunny dug a hole under the fence and disappeared. I don’t see the hummingbirds that much, though a beautiful green-topped one graced the feeder while I sat outside talking on the phone yesterday. I named it Hope. It was then that I noticed how yellow the leaves were getting on the Ficus tree. You still have to water the trees, I told myself… even if the wonders of summer have gone.

 

We still maintain. We water the trees and Love the periwinkle that decided to come back from the edge of death and bloom, despite the holy basil that slumps over, even after all my efforts to keep the snailed herb thriving. Kapoor basil seedlings wait, full of Faith, to be transplanted and have a chance to survive and grow in a new and bigger home. Look to them, hopefully.

 

Inordinate stores of energy and stubborn will are required to keep on tending to our gardens when seasons change and things don’t bloom as we had expected. We have a choice. We could give up and let everything die, or we can make the effort and see the beauty that is there… if we take the time to look.

 

Here’s to the strength to keep going in the everyday grayness that life can seem. Thankfully, we somehow push through the blah and keep faithfully watering those trees… for greener leaves tomorrow.

 

Faith, Hope and Love carry us through these winterish times… through the changes that challenge us to grow… and eventually bloom… when the season is ripe. The behind-the-scenes work of regular watering, attention and care make more difference than we may be aware. It’s the constant care, regardless of the current conditions, that brings us beauty we can appreciate in the future. As with anything we do in life, persistence pays off.

 

Though we may wonder, naturally, when we will see the fruits of our labors… keep on keeping awe…

 

 

Tuning in to the Animal Multi-Verse

There’s something about animals that has always intrigued me. Kids and animals seem to have a natural affinity for one another, maybe b/c their spirits are so pure, they relate.

Pets often take on the role of child sitter or protector, when we’re young. Image It’s a natural instinct. My dog, and I’m sure others too, has an instinct to go and fetch my daughter’s polar bear that she sleeps with. Every morning, after my daughter gets out of bed, Ginger heads to her room to get Polar and brings him out to the living room to cuddle on the couch. Image Is that the sweetest natural awe or what?

More and more lately, I’m seeing examples of interspecies love and communication. I’m wondering if this is a sign of expanding consciousness throughout the planet? As our paradigm shifts, the old story about the cat eating the bird, and the dog chasing the cat is changing. Image

“Wild” and domestic animals are taking care of one another. catanddeer

chimpanddogs When this little chimp’s mom died, a zoo employee decided to take it home to give it some extra lovin. What a surprise to see where the loving came from!

huskyandtuxedokit This sweet kitty was also rescued and cared for by a sweet Siberian Husky, who even nursed the kitty! There’s a video of them too.

dogandhorse In Friendship,

Caring henandpuppy

and Cuddling, pupandkit

these animals remind us that no matter what we look like, or what we’re called, loving and caring for each other is a universal song we can all sing! Tune in!!!

Puppy Love

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Animal companions add so much to our lives. My dog Ginger is such a blessing in so many ways. She is always happy to see me, hugging me when I get home, and same with the kids. Whenever she sees anyone she knows, she gets so excited and welcomes them with such pure joy.

You can’t not smile around her. Dogs are constant companions, forever loyal, loving and protective too.

Ginger is our first alert; deterring any kind of evil from entering our home.

She also gets me out to exercise ~ we love our hikes! Dogs are truly (wo)man’s best friend. Loyal, loving, protective, playful and perfect. Psychic too.

The connection and understanding is amazing. I told Ginger today to “fix her leash” and she lifted first one leg, then the other to untangle her leash; she truly understands.

The link between humans and animals is a natural wonder I am so grateful to experience. Dog is God spelled backwards, after all.

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Did I mention she’s part human too? Connection…

The Power of Human Nature

On this Summer Solstice, I find myself pondering the oft-overlooked wonders of our human nature. The power of the human spirit is absolutely awe-inspiring. In the past weeks, a common theme has been threaded among our experiences. In some way, we are all being prompted to examine our beliefs and face our truths and fears. The death of a child, infidelity, religious programming and human abilities have been the vehicles driving our awareness in my circle these past few weeks. Through it all, we are learning, we are more powerful than most of us realize.

 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.”

~Marianne Williamson

 

It’s time to remember and reclaim the power in our human nature.

 

“It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.”

 

How else can you explain the ability to endure and accept, gracefully, what is certainly one of life’s ultimate horrors and trauma: the unexpected, accidental death of your 3-year-old son? To keep going through unimaginable grief and reach out to your friends and families, accepting unconditional love and compassion, is a tribute to the strength and power of the human spirit. Building a 40-foot altar of love in honor of a young life, a community came together connecting this life with the next and creating a peace and outpouring of eternal love and support. Nobody will deny that the deep love and spiritual sharing at a time such as this was a natural human instinct felt by every family member and friend who knew this little boy, and served as a source of healing for each one of us, here and beyond. Even in her grief, my friend acknowledged the power of our human interactions. “Please as you see us out and about living our lives in this town send us love and light and a SMILE…as opposed to feeling sorry or awkward…………..we are still feeling so blessed in our lives and place you in charge of reminding us of  joy……………”

 

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

 

As we reach out to others, we learn truths, some of which we are subconsciously aware of already. Our subconscious houses information we sometimes don’t register consciously. But there is power there. It often comes across as an inner knowing. It can gnaw at us if we ignore it too. This ability to know something so strongly without physical proof is powerful, and is undeniably part of our human nature. Intuition is our natural ability. Learning to trust it will lead us to the truths we will live our lives by. Acting upon intuition, we’re often surprised at how quickly our hunches are confirmed. How does a woman know, despite accusations of being “crazy” that her boyfriend of a year has started seeing another woman? What unexplainable, uncanny urge to check his phone for the first time in the relationship spurs her into action, to find the number of a new contact? Women’s intuition is especially strong, when it comes to our love. This knowing is part of our power. Calling the contact proved her intuition was correct, and conversation restored her trust and faith in her own powerful nature (but not her relationship).

As we begin to embrace our power, our abilities will increase. My friend told me about a magician who was levitating. “It had to be from Satan!” she proclaimed. Out of character, I didn’t agree with her. “Why is it a bad thing?” I asked her. She felt it was okay that Jesus levitated, because he did it with the power of God, but nobody else could possibly do it with the same power. Some discussion about supernatural not necessarily being a bad thing from “Satan” shifted her opinion, and caused her to question her immediate first thought. Fear can blind us to the truth. We don’t have to be afraid of our natural abilities and our human natures. Developing them will enable us to live more fully and lead to greater fulfillment, personally and collectively.

 

“As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

 

We already feel vibes, we know when something’s not feeling right, without any words being exchanged. Telepathy would eliminate lying, as the false nature would be evident in people evolved in their natural ability to discern truth. We are multidimensional beings, and we’re being moved to evolve and advance. Energy healing is a natural frontier of medicine, and is within all of our abilities. Doreen Virtue said today it’s time to “claim your divine, spiritual God-given power.” Connecting to spirit and tuning in to your own natural power is as easy as consciously choosing your thoughts.

Think good, happy thoughts consistently and you will attract that frequency in your life. Think about the thoughts that occupy your mind most of the time. You have the choice to choose what you think about. And thoughts are sooooooooo powerful. I recently witnessed 14 people being hypnotized and acting on what they thought was happening. You can only be hypnotized if you’re willing, which is the first demonstration of our mind’s power. Nobody can hypnotize you against your will. But if you want to be hypnotized, you can be, and you will believe what is suggested to you… the power of suggestion. Under hypnosis, the participants all saw a yellow egg “laid” by another participant.  As ridiculous as this sounds, as they all believed that person had laid a yellow egg, they all saw it.

All we have to do is believe in the power and wonder of our human nature to realize it!!!!!!!!!!!!! Consciously, Collectively Connect.

No Man is an Island

This comes from Govinda, via my friend Christina Dawn… a lot to read, but worth it!!!!!!!!!!

We should never underestimate our power to influence the evolution of the world. Each of us is an integral part of the Collective Consciousness of Humanity. When one person evolves spiritually, the Collective Consciousness evolves as well. Whenever even one person increases compassion and opens their heart to unconditional love, he/she raises the vibrational frequency of the World. As the Collective Consciousness evolves, so too shall each individual.

Uncovering Secrets In Relationships

Again, communication is a key factor in all of our personal, business and international relationships. This Venus Transit is calling for a deeper honesty in relationships. Since the Venus transit from 2004 – 2012 coincides with the Uranus in Pisces cycle, communications between humans will develop on intuitive levels. The combined energies of these two cycles will catalyze heightened intuitive awareness of our hidden emotions and desires, as well as awareness of our partners’ hidden emotions and desires. Eventually, we will no longer be able to, or need to, hide our true feelings from each other. In time, we will develop total trust and love for each other.

Here is an amazing write up by Govinda:

Venus passed between the Earth and our Sun on June 8th, 2004, and initiated an eight-year cycle known as the “Venus Transits”. The Venus Transits cycle is a rare celestial event that occurs every 113 – 130 years, when Venus eclipses the Sun two times – at the beginning and at the end of an eight-year period. The second Venus eclipse will occur on June 6th, 2012. Astrologically, Venus represents our relationships with others. Communication is a major factor in all of our relationships. Whenever Venus eclipsed the Sun in past recorded history, there was a major breakthrough in communications. For example, at the time of the last Venus eclipse in 1874, the Transatlantic Telegraph Cable was completed that created the first intercontinental communications by wire between the East and the West. In 1761, another year of a Venus eclipse, there was a collaboration of astronomers at 77 observation points from all over the world to determine the distance from Earth to the Sun.

Today, we have expanded global communications for the masses through the Internet and satellite systems. Our ability to communicate with each other worldwide is continually expanding. The questions now become: What are we communicating to our world – love or fear? and, How is our media (the Internet, computer games, the movie industry, cell phones, etc.), affecting society as a whole?

A successful relationship is created through good communication, mutual respect and consideration for one another. This happens best when we recognize and honor the Oneness in all of us. When we are able to do this, we will create peace between each other, our organizations, our governments and countries. A good way to resolve conflicts with others is to recognize how we are the same, not how we are different. This creates a foundation from which we can build a positive, peaceful relationship. For example, when a mother loses a child in war, regardless of her color or faith, the pain is the same. When someone is shown respect and love, the joy is the same. If you realize that you and your perceived enemy both want peace so that suffering may end, then you can begin to talk from a place of mutual understanding, rather than from aggravation.

The Divine Feminine Awakens

Venus eclipsing the Sun represents an awakening of the Divine Feminine energies in our world. For thousands of years, the world has been ruled by patriarchal societies. These masculine rulers have created wars, power struggles, destruction, pollution, fear, pain, separation and famine. They have shown little or no respect for feminine wisdom or our Mother Earth.

The patriarchal organizations of the world have repressed most knowledge of women’s roles in world history. Recently, information has begun to be revealed that recognizes the truth of how women have affected our history. The books, The DiVinci Code, by Dan Brown and The Expected One, by Kathleen McGowan, both reveal the truth about Mary Magdalene and her relationship to Jesus, are good examples of such information. It is time for the pendulum to swing back towards the Divine Feminine and rest comfortably in the middle. To become whole, we need both the Divine Feminine and the Divine Masculine energies, equally in our lives.

As the Divine Feminine energy interfaces with human consciousness, it awakens and expands compassion within our hearts, and emotional healing can occur for all of Humanity. Compassion awakens the ability to feel and express unconditional love. To be able to love without attachments or expectations is the highest form of love that a human being can express. This kind of love supports the healing of others and our personal evolution/ascension.

One of the keys to accessing Divine Feminine healing energy is through forgiveness. Only when all is forgiven will total love be available to us. We must forgive others and ourselves for all of the perceived wrongs that have ever been done. We can heal ourselves if we are willing to feel and express all of our emotions, and then to forgive ourselves and others for all that we have perceived as wrong. This process will liberate us from the bondage of our emotional pain. Forgiveness is the key to releasing ourselves from our past. When we are liberated from our past and live fullyin the “now” our true happiness may be realized and our power to create is maximized.

A Question Of Balance

Venus is the planet of love. The world needs creative solutions, feminine guidance and love in order to heal. These energies will continue to increase during this period, in spite of the attempts of the fear tactics of male dominance.

Venus represents the heart and the feminine side of our being. The Sun represents our individuality and the masculine side of our being. Venus aligning with the Sun is symbolic of our Feminine (Anima) and Masculine (Animus) energies coming into unity and balance. Venus eclipsing (in front of) the Sun symbolizes our need to consider the feminine expression first, before the masculine, and to allow the feminine energies to guide and balance masculine expression.

Creativity Awakens!

Venus also represents the creative and artistic sides of our natures. The Venus Transit will catalyze previously hidden, latent, artistic talent and creative abilities. People who have never expressed an art form before will awaken their hidden talents. Artists will discover new modalities through which they can express themselves more deeply. For example, many people who have never played a musical instrument will suddenly feel a desire to learn and express themselves through music. Some will want to join the local acting clubs, and so on.

Uncovering Secrets In Relationships

Again, communication is a key factor in all of our personal, business and international relationships. This Venus Transit is calling for a deeper honesty in relationships. Since the Venus transit from 2004 – 2012 coincides with the Uranus in Pisces cycle, communications between humans will develop on intuitive levels. The combined energies of these two cycles will catalyze heightened intuitive awareness of our hidden emotions and desires, as well as awareness of our partners’ hidden emotions and desires. Eventually, we will no longer be able to, or need to, hide our true feelings from each other. In time, we will develop total trust and love for each other.

Walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death
The world needs a higher, altruistic, spiritual love to manifest and prevail over the lower, more selfish emotions. A world where unconditional, spiritual love prevails is our potential as human beings. Conscious and unconscious fear-based emotions are obstacles to this higher love. To discover and express this kind of love, Humanity must first expose and purge the fear-based emotions in our collective consciousness.

From an astrological perspective, Venus represents the emotional energies in our relationships with others. When Venus eclipsed the Sun, it blocked some of the Sun’s light and exposed the dark side of Venus, which represents the shadow side of our emotional natures. This began an eight-year process of uncovering the shadows in our emotional relationships. These shadows are the unresolved, repressed, fear-based psychological energies that unconsciously cause dysfunctionality and unhappiness in our relationships. They cause us to behave in ways that undermine our relationships, block intimacy, and cause breakdowns in communications. Essentially, these shadows block our ability to truly love another person. These repressed emotions usually begin during our early childhoods and/or may be carried over from past lives.

We must take responsibility for how we show up in our relationships with others. It is important to observe our feelings and our behavior with the important people in our lives, and to come to terms with our dysfunctional emotional patterns. It may be helpful and revealing for each of us to ask these questions: “Where am I not able to be truly open, honest and real in my relationships with others?”, “At what point do I shut down emotionally?”, “Where are my boundaries?” and “Are these boundaries healthy or are they blocking my intimacy?”

It is up to each of us to allow intimacy into our heart to expand our relationship with others. Intimacy can only happen when we allow others to “Into me see.” This develops when we let down our barriers and allow others to see into our hearts. To the best of our abilities, we must be honest with ourselves. We must allow ourselves to be vulnerable and expose our true feelings (even if they are negative emotions) to those whom we are in relationships with. This will endear ourselves to others and deepen our intimacy with them.

Expanding Love

Another result of the Venus Transit is an increase of our capacity to love others more completely, deeply and intensely. This will include heightened feelings of love and appreciation for our partners and other people in our lives. Our emotional natures are melding with our spiritual natures, which is expanding our capacity for unconditional love.

The opposite will also be true. We will become more clear and sensitive to the truth about all of our relationships. If a person is not in alignment with our higher good, we will become increasingly disillusioned with this person. Our dysfunctional relationships will become increasingly apparent, and we may feel a need to change the structure or boundaries of these relationships. We may need to end some of our relationships that are no longer serving our personal evolution.

What you Appreciate, Appreciates

In our relationships with others, it is good to let them know how much we appreciate their being in our lives. Let’s be thankful for all of the qualities that we enjoy in others and let them know how much we appreciate them. Remember that what we appreciate, appreciates.

The most effective way to accomplish self-understanding and personal mastery is through our relationships. We can monitor our process of personal mastery of our egos by observing our interrelations with others – are we experiencing conditional or unconditional love?

Compassion opens the door to unconditional love. Unconditional love is supported by seeing the Divine in others and acting in integrity with love. Our relationships with others are our greatest gifts, and integrity is vital for each relationship to work. Do unto others what you would have them do unto you. It helps to ask, “What is the highest good for all concerned?” The higher good for all can be perceived in your heart from a feeling of love.

No Man is an Island

We should never underestimate our power to influence the evolution of the world. Each of us is an integral part of the Collective Consciousness of Humanity. When one person evolves spiritually, the Collective Consciousness evolves as well. Whenever even one person increases compassion and opens their heart to unconditional love, he/she raises the vibrational frequency of the World. As the Collective Consciousness evolves, so too shall each individual. A quote from Bette Reese says it all: “If you think you’re too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.”

Integrating Sacred Love

By the time of the second eclipse of the Sun by Venus, on June 6, 2012, Humanity will have evolved to a place of greater readiness for a higher love. Hopefully, after eight years of processing the shadows of our emotions, awakening intuition and developing compassion, we will have cleared the psychological obstacles to unconditional love. Then, Peace on Earth, and Goodwill towards all people will be possible. Sacred love expands when the Divine in one person appreciates and honors the Divine in another. Thus, the sacred wheel of love is created and Heaven on Earth will manifest for those individuals. As this happens for everyone, Peace on Earth will become a reality.

Namaste,
Govinda