When I was a kid, one hot summer day, I was lying in the sun on a towel in my backyard and it was so, so hot! It was a bit before noon, and I had my iced tea, my journal, and my transistor radio (you can Google that!). I looked up in the sky, and to my right, I saw the bright, beautiful, radiant sun! It was scorching hot, full of energy, and I could literally see the beams reaching down to our beautiful Earth. I glanced across the sky to my left, and I saw the faint outline of the moon. The mOOn! And I was like, "OMG! I can see the sUn and the mOOn at the same time!"
I felt a deep connection with the cycles of nature, the sun, the moon, the Earth--ALL OF IT. It was an epiphany (which means, according to dictionary.com):asudden,intuitiveperceptionof,orinsight
Here's what I understood in a deep and timeless manner:
Everything is connected.
Absolutely everything.
So, tonight marks the Gemini new moon, and I do rituals and special prayers and intentions around the cycles of the moon. So, when the moon is new and it waxes (gradually gets larger . . .) we are supposed to call in new attitudes, ideas, relationships, behaviors (fill-in-the-blank) that will serve our highest good!
For this moon cycle, I intentionally bring in: balance in work & play, gratitude, peace, feeling my feelings, daily rituals & meditation, self-care, & purpose.
. . . Here's a cool moon ritual from a site that I subscribe to each month called MoonCircles:
Yesterday was the first day of the HAY HOUSE WORLD SUMMIT, an online event to inspire, heal, and begin some important conversations about life and love. IT'S FREE--check it out! I'll be blogging about it in the coming days . . .
I LooOoOOooooOOve the sPrIngTiMe! Know Why? Because it's spring!
Everything is reborn, and reawakening from the stillness and incubation of winter.
Just to be clear: I do love every season for different reasons--because of the rhythm of the cycles of nature. It all happens in perfect time--when we can trust it and let go of control in order to allow all that is.
This past weekend at our cabin in Wisconsin, it actually felt like spring for the first time, and there are some things I really appreciate about this time of year:
driving to work in the SUNLIGHT!
Teddy, my dog, smelling like fresh air and grass when he comes inside
barbeque anything
the anticipation of summer
street music
Minnesota lakes and the buzz of people in the city . . .
the quiet centeredness of walking at Baker Park
Every spring is a great time to take an inventory about how we want our life to look and feel: for example, what behaviors and relationships do we want to call in or continue? and what behaviors and relationships do we want to let go? This is especially awesome to think about before Wednesday's FULL MOON!
I am glad that I'm learning to BE PRESENT with my friends without trying to:
FIX them and their problems
rescue them
tell them what to do (none of my business unless they ask--my friends are groWn-uPs!)
judge them and break up with them 'cuz they are sOsosOosO BROKEN and I am so evolved (good one, huh? I used to tell myself that ALOT!)
A really beautiful friend of mine actually used to listen to me doing the same crazy crap all the time, nod, and after I was done ranting and raving, would gently ask,"What are you going to do?" and I was like . . . (well, first I have to tell you secretly that I was a little pissed and surprised 'cuz have been allowing people to tell me what to do all my life AND. . . get this. . . I WANTED TO BE RESCUED . . . 'cuz I didn't feel powerful . . . and, I really didn't know what to do sometimes . . .)
Anyway, back to the start of my sentence.
A really beautiful friend of mine actually used to listen to my crazy crap all the time, nod, and after I was done ranting and raving, would gently ask,"What do you want?" & "What are you going to do?" and I was like (in my grown up spot), "Oh my God! This friend really believes I can solve this myself! Wow! Maybe I can!"---totally new!"
I AM SUPER-CAPITAL "D" DANA!
And now, I can pass on this wisdom to myself and the people I love (you know, like, as in EVERYONE!)
So, as I started in yesterday, next time I speak with my amazing and capable (and dramatic and crazy) friend--
forgiveness
&
gratitude
So today I'll write a bit @ forgiveness:
TOP SECRET: It's not about the person you're forgiving; it's about you and your own freedom. As Chopra writes,
"No one is wrong. In the eyes of love, all people are doing the best they can from their own levels of consciousness."
~ Deepak Chopra
Just so you know, that doesn't make right the crappy stuff that people have done. Horrible atrocities happen everyday in our world--murder, rape, suicide, child abuse, theft, natural disaster like tornados, hurricanes,
and the list goes on and on . . .
and guess what? . . . pain is part of life. And, thankfully, so is JOY! What I am saying, is, that it's our choice what we do with our pain.
I know people who have been in pain, drama, and in victim mode 4 FOREVER! And, I used to be there, too! And finally, I got sick of it. I got sick of feeling like crap, I got sick of my same old victim story, and I had to shift or die a slow spiritual death. The "shift" hit the fan, and I was presented with a choice.
StoRy (you're welcome! . . .): When I was super especially miserable at one point in my life, I began to run--a lot. And I ran, . . . and ran, . . . and ran, . . . and ran (maybe a bit too much, actually, I have that tendency, if you haven't noticed . . .). I was so burdened, stressed out, burned out, & sad & exhausted one morning, but--I still went running before my kids got up. I turned left onto the three-mile course I did, and I saw about a 15 pound ginormous rock.
Something told me to pick it up . . . and guess what? I ran the whole damn 3 miles carrying that 15 lb. rock! And when I was done, I put down the rock, and I felt as light as air!
That's what forgiveness does.
It frees us.
It makes us lighter.
It means we quit judging others
and making them "wrong" so our egos can be "right", "superior",
and
ALL
THAT!
(and it takes the pressure off . . .)
Anyway, just so you know, I totally get that it's easier to stay stuck in being mad, right, offended, or disgusted by someone else's behavior (which conveniently takes the focus off of ourselves, get it?). BUT--it's only hurting you (& me & we!)
What teeny tiny thing can you 4-give today!?
Let us know in the comments!
SmooCH!
XOXOXOXOXOXOX dana
p.s here's what Deepak (I'm on a first name basis with him . . . not!) says about forgiveness . . . take a bite!
p.p.s. note the BliNgEd out gLaSSes! diamonds, no?
Dear FunFreePeeps: Today I had an amazing day! Interesting that nothing really noteworthy or mind-blowing happened . . . but as I was sitting at my desk this morning, I thought to myself, "I'm going to have a wonderful day." In essence, I made a conscious decision at the beginning of my day that I was going to be in a great mood, I was going to pleasantly interact with those around me, and I was going to travel lightly, and engage fully with my students and colleagues. As my homeroom kids came in after the bell, I had meditation music playing in my classroom, and after the Pledge of Allegiance, we hung out together, chatted, and got ready for our day. Guess what? My intention made all the difference in my day, and I did HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! I think starting to reread Gabrielle Bernstein's newest book, May Cause Miracles, may have something to do with my fresh-feeling mindset. Today, I was able to read some of the introduction, which focuses on creating a life surrounded by miracles, and getting into a "miracle mindset." Guess what she wrote about? Energy.
Here are some of her words (as I shared with you yesterday):
"Your body is a molecular structure that is always vibrating energy. That energy is positive when thoughts are positive, and it is negative when your thoughts are negative. Our energy fields are like magnets; they attract their likeness. Therefore, if your energy is negative . . . guess what? You're attracting negativity into your life. [ . . . ] The miracle-minded approach shows you how to shift your thoughts and energy, thereby attracting positivity into your life."
Bernstein, May Cause Miracles, p. 7
Yesterday I was talking to my best friend, about how tough it is to be away from my kids (and him, secretly). What he said to me was this: "Maybe we have to be apart so we have to consciously reconnect each time we come back together." Oh, my gosh!. That is the most amazing statement, and it's true. Being divorced has made me more conscious in relationship with my children--which is a huge blessing. I have to be more present, more intentional, and more in the moment than I have ever been before. Each minute (seriously) is a blessing. And I consider myself so lucky. When I'm not with my kids, I am so blessed to have time to create a relationship with myself (for the first time of my life), and with my partner (who honors the fact that I need to put myself first--the only man in my life who has ever honored that, taught me about that, and believed it to be true)--Oh my. I am a blessed woman. WOOO HOOO!
Today, I chose to rethink the challenges into positives. Remember, whatever energy we put out into the Universe in the form of thoughts-- is mirrored back to us in the original state--in the same form of energy. Today, I chose positive thoughts, and look where it brought me! Can't wait to create a beautiful tomorrow! Love you! Dana
Today I was reading a excerpt on Oprah.com from an Eckhart Tolle interview, and he was discussing the true meaning of peace. He was describing these common things that get in our way of being at peace:
We mistake peace for unconsciousness.
We mistake peace for happiness.
We keep looking ahead (or looking back).
We strain away from the present moment.
We don't fully trust . . . yet.
In the next few days, I'll be writing about on or two of these barriers at a time.
When I consider the first barrier to peace--We mistake peace for unconsciousness--I am reminded about the unconscious behaviors we have that prevent us from feeling peace.
They can include texting, or engaging with social media like Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Pintrest, and YouTube. It can also mean losing ourselves in television, cable, Netflix, or Roku.
We also become less conscious and lower our energetic frequency as a result of addictive behaviors like overeating, drinking, smoking, engaging in obsessive thought patterns, or gossiping. These are what Tolle calls "desensitized states," and they offer short-term numbness and are short-lived. What we long for, on the other hand, is the heightened awareness and deep sense of knowing that only true peace can offer. Peace does not depend on substances, addictive patterns, or on outside circumstances. I know that for me, when I experience true peace, time drops off, and I am completely engaged in the present moment of WHAT IS. The godly "I AM."
Peace just is, and it resides deep within us . . . and also within our reach. How do you tap into your inner peace? Leave a comment and share your experience. More about peace tomorrow!
