In a Body, In a Group, Altogether = Whole

As we travel deeper into life, we become more acutely aware that we are bigger than the sum total of our parts.

 We realize we aren’t the greatest thinker, the wisest one, the brightest light bulb, ( hahaha that right there was funny cuz I did this thing with being the most illumined and..ahem…umm…)

…ahem, so we realize all of that. 

But the miraculous thing is that, no matter what we are NOT, we ARE (always) a vital part of the whole picture. If that were not true then why are we here. We are, each one of us, a Vital part of the Whole. 

As progeny ( or we could say reflections or aspects, how ever it resonates with you ) of Creator, we ARE individual embodiments of Holy Aspects of The One True God. I prefer to call her, Divine One and you may have a name that resonates with you, but whatever you call The One, realize that you are crafted and brought forth  because of Her desire to experience life the way you are going to live it. 

Now, see yourself, but as another...as millions of 'others', scattered all over this beautiful globe, all coming forth from one Creator, truly brothers and sisters with all other aspects of creation, all here from One Divine Source. Feel that connection…let your heart live into that for a while...

Now lets look at one life. A life wanting to fulfill Divine Creators purpose and wanting to understand it's individual journey. How is this possible…?

All that makes you, you, all your thoughts, gestures, idiosyncrasies, talents, abilities, characteristics, perceptions, flaws, fears, Etc. ALL these are merely aspects of the Whole of You. Any one of these things is no closer to being the whole of you than one leaf is to being the whole of the tree from which it grows. And consider, now, all the things that you are maturing out of and all the things you are maturing into. ALL of that is the Whole You.

In order to experience your Wholeness, you must come to realize and understand this Wholeness in its purest state. But experiencing Wholeness in its purest state can not be done by holding it up to another standard…that is being Separate. Wholeness  is… well,, it is Wholeness. You can not experience your Wholeness by seeing it as separate from all the rest of creation, or separated out by time and space.

You thought you knew you…well sit down and think/connect some more.

 And once we have felt this Oneness with THE  Whole, maybe then, when we lift up our eyes and see another, we will see ourselves reflected…and True compassion for self and other will fill our Whole Beings.

In the Crack of life, you know, it seems like it should be a tight space… and yet there is all the room you will ever need…its all there…One. One Whole amazing miracle where you and 'other' are a vital, shimmering aspect of it All. 

Without you, or without the other…there is a very dark void where there should be  sparkles of magnificence.

Together, we are more fabulous than the sum total of our parts,…we are Whole.

Namaste

A Small Key

 The activities we find ourselves involved ( and sometimes lost )  in, whether by choice, duty, obligation; even those situations we feel we have been forced into by circumstances that seem out of our control, these are the very pathways gifted to us which we are able to explore in order to find our connection to the very vastness, beauty and healing of The Divine Creator. Often times these same activities then become the ways through which we are able to manifest the results of that exploration, the witness of that vast beauty, the healing we have received. They become the vehicle through which we can share our findings with those who are  waiting for someone,...Anyone,... to come up alongside and  by way of a word, a gentle touch, a personal story… offer a small 'key' to the heavy door that they want to open. How far they open it, even if but a ‘crack’, isn't the concern for us…open is open.

Sometimes, growth only requires a crack … :-0… ;-) 

Am I Using The Word "Literally" Correctly? : Oiy

The last few days have been quite intense and exhilarating. I signed up to participate in an online retreat through a beautiful web site called www.awakeningwomen.com and have been blessed from my head to my toes since it started 4 days ago. 

The retreat is an amazing journey into the deepest parts of your being. Down into the ugly bits that we hide away and then pretend are not there in hopes they will go away. Of course they don't go away. Like a horrid mold, they rage on in the damp, dark corners of your secret self. There they fester and grow pungent under the heavy stones of denial, thickening in viscosity and threatening to erupt like an angry boil.

Ahhhhhhh.....sorry, I digress.

So, during this retreat then, the participants have been asked to seek deeply. To embrace honesty as a constant companion. The rewards are far greater for the Divine Warrior. The one who really wants to, and does, overturn the stones and dig into the corners. 

All this exhausting emotional work is to be stuffed into every tiny, available, empty crevasse of a moment the day may provide, while living out your daily "normal" activities.

Today, day four, I am finally stripping myself of some of those things I do without even thinking much about them. Those ways of perceiving, thinking, reacting, behaving that have been a part of me since I was a tiny girl. 

They worked for a time, but now, now when I desire more of me...when I desire to BE more of ME, they no longer serve. They may have, at one time, been established to protect me. Now? Now after all this time and all the hurts and failures they have morphed into enemies and they keep me from fully embracing ALL of me. I spend too much time fighting them back, fighting to keep the good above and the ugly below. I am ready to embrace ALL the good and ALL the bad. 

Mind you when I say I am out to embrace the bad, I am not saying, like I have heard so many say of late " That's who I am and I am not going to change!" Saying that I am embracing that which hides in the darkness is NOT saying "This me, good and bad, and I am not changing!" How very, very sad to not want to change! To not want to look at what hinders, and name it, thereby removing all of its power.

No, no, I want to name it, bring it out in the light of day. Dig into the corners, over turn the rocks and expose the ugly mess to the sunshine. Dry it up, so to speak, so that instead of it bubbling and boiling under the surface waiting to erupt with any tiny bump of frustration or indignation when a weird text comes or an odd Facebook comment is posted or someone leaves their dirty dishes all over the house or the dog chews yet another window sill off, instead of it erupting and causing havoc on all fronts, I can, at my leisure,  turn to where it lays quiet and domesticated…waiting and willing to serve my highest good.

In this way I can calmly access it in order that it may inform my authentic response instead of being over powered by it and catapulted into an ill advised reaction, judgment, or just numbed by it so that I can't respond at all. 

So, you see, this is why I decided I needed to find something to wear this morning that would be a visual outward manifestation of this cleansing process that is taking place on such a profound level.

I chose a sweet, white, lacy knee length shift.

I took a hot bath with lavender oil. 

I slipped the shift over my head and as it fell into place over my aging hips I began to feel a bit lighter and released from the heavy, emotional work.

I never, ever wear thongs..but today? Today I decided I needed to feel like perhaps I could get away with it. No one would know. There would be no judgements.

The day was perfection...meditations, incense, candles, prayers, me in my white lace dress.

Here is the thing about being a bit ....hmmmmm....let's use voluptuous...being a bit voluptuous and wearing a thong. Sometimes...and it's only sometimes… one who is voluptuous can forget it is there.

And so perfection ends after several cups of tea and a lonnnng meditation …I run into the bathroom and sit...and wonder..."Why is this such an odd experience? I don't normally have this strange flow of….OMG!!!!!"

Now...I ask you,...can I say that this is "literally" Life Between The Cracks?? 

Hahahahahahahahaha awwwwww 

Peace and Laughter In Your Journey!

Peace,