Okay so we all want to evolve right?

We want to move on from the places and things that are not for our highest good.

We want to leave behind old “programming” that keeps us going around the same mountain.

We want to reach and stretch and live the most joyous lives we can.

One of the first steps in realizing this evolution is a very simple one.  So simple in fact I bet we often overlook it and then wonder why we still feel stuck.

Appreciating where we are right now is key to moving on.  Let me say that again.  When we choose to appreciate ourselves exactly how we are right now, even if we don’t prefer the results in our lives, we pave the way for the provision that propels us ahead.

It’s far too easy to be hard on ourselves, to judge ourselves, and to condemn the thoughts we hold and the actions we take, especially when we really want to be living in a different state.

But this will never support the maturity we long for.

The energy we give in this place of self-criticism only serves to draw more attention to that which we don’t want.

Now it’s a very different thing to notice yourself…to step back and observe the way you’re being, and then, without judgment, to let that be what it is.  To breathe through it, to recognize you have choices, and then to put your attention on the state of being you desire.

There is never a reason, in my book, to be hard on yourself.  It serves nothing and no one.

And yet this is ingrained in us from a culture that says, “More more, you’ve got to do more, produce more, work harder, be all you can be, rise to the top, achieve, excel, go go go, be the top in your class, find the right mate, be the best parent, do this, do that……”

You can get off the hamster wheel anytime you want and learn a new way of being you.  Not dependent on what others think about you, not based on how you’ve been trained, but arising from an authentic self-worth that declares your inherent value, goodness and divinity.

I propose a new strategy.

Every time you notice something you do or say or think that feels “old” and out of alignment with who you are and where you are heading, choose to smile and get all excited.  I’m for real.  Choose to appreciate yourself and the place you are in.  Choose to KNOW that you are on an evolving pathway and exclaim,  “Oh look, here’s another gorgeous opportunity to learn, to connect with Source, and to accept my process.”

Cause here’s the thing…..until we learn to do the above, we truly will not be able to see and experience the incredible joy awaiting us every day of our lives.

The possibility is upon us for a magical mystical journey.  I know that.

And think about it, aren’t we always in some experience on our way to another experience?  Aren’t we always someplace on our way to another place?  It’s not like we are going to arrive anywhere and stay there.

Remember, we are unlearning and unmemorizing “stuff” from generations before us.  Be kind to yourself.  Take a deep breath and rest in the knowing that you are doing just fine.

If things feel difficult, it’s because you are holding a lower vibrational perspective.

Come up into the higher place of knowing that it’s these exact processes of transformation that are the treasures of your life.  These times are rich for remembering who you really are.

And please know that you are surrounded by helpers.  You can call upon angels, upon Spirit, and upon those who have gone before you, and great clarity and assistance will come.

I’m so grateful for each of you….your eagerness for life stirs me to upgrade my beliefs about what is possible.  Thank you!

I’m away on vacation next week, so I’ll see you back on May 30.

BIG love,

Julie

Trust has been a theme word for me lately and also with a number of close friends in my life.  Hmmm, perhaps the Universe is trying to convey a relevant message.

How many things are going on in your life right now that you would love to have a deep peace about?  I mean, like a solid knowing that the details are being worked out, the path is being made clear, and all is well?

Perfect time for a free fall.

Even when life is flowing magnificently there are still life processes evolving.

Even in the very best of experiences being encountered, life still being lived out in an ebb and flow process.

There will never be a time in our human experience when everything is in complete order because that actually isn’t what we are here for…..and quite honestly it would be SO boring, oh my gosh!

We are here to continue evolving….and…evolution by its very nature implies the unknown, implies change, implies discovery……

So why do we resist the transformations?

Why do we grow so impatient when we cannot see the end result in our lives or when we cannot yet taste the tangible fruit of something we long for?

For those of you who garden, do you fret and worry during the months when the veggies aren’t yet popping up out of the ground?  I doubt you are wringing your hands and trying to speed up the process.  Why?  Because you have a knowing.  You know it takes time, you know it can’t be rushed, and you know the growth depends on the sun and water and temperatures, etc.

I even bet you might say that you know it’s a sacred process….all this planting and reaping.

What if the Universe is inviting us into a dance of trust, unlike anything we’ve ever yet experienced and unlike how most of the world around us operates?

If life is always evolving, and if there’s always going to be the unknown, then wouldn’t it make sense that our Benevolent Source wants us to be at peace?  DEEEP peace.  With Joy.  At Ease.  In Freedom.

Trusting life means many things.  For me, it means resting when I cannot see what’s next.  It means having my heart and body at ease even when I would like something completed/healed and I am not yet experiencing it in the here and now.

It means abiding in the  KNOWING that I am being looked out for 24/7 by loving forces.

It means going with the flow and not resisting when things don’t go how I would prefer them to go.

Let me share a new thing I’m practicing.  When someone does not show up in the way I would like them to, I rejoice.  When they don’t provide the answer I desire or the response I prefer, I go into grateful mode.

This has been so much fun.  Rather than make up stuff about why or what, rather than go to disappoint mode, I thank God….because it gives me the opportunity to remember I am complete and whole, fulfilled and free.   It gives me the opportunity to NOT rise or fall based on another and to stand in my own security and happiness.

“For the enlightened mind is in complete abundance, always.”

“For safety can come only in reclining in the Heart of God.”

You might even consider taking a piece of paper and writing “Trust” across the top.  Spend two minutes filling the paper with all the words that come to you for how this trust feels.  Just let it flow, and before you know it you will be caught up in the stability of trust.  I do this frequently with different words and it’s so powerful.

So these are a few of the ways I am living out Trusting Life.  What other ways can you come up with?

Relaxing into Free Fall,

julie

Namaste is an ancient Sanskrit greeting which basically means, “I honor the place in you of light, of love, of truth, and of peace.”  Or another version which I love as well, “The Divine in me honors and recognizes the Divine in you.”

Imagine for a moment if we greeted everyone with this perspective and posture.  What if we actually paused long enough to look at another when we came into their presence and acknowledge their light?

We move through life so quickly.  And even when we choose to go more slowly, our patterning is geared to go from one thing to another, and we can easily miss the sacred in the simple.

I went on a walk with my 16 year old.  We talked about life and living as our best selves.  It was simple.  It was sacred.

I sat with my dog today and stroked him and talked with him.  It was holy.

I texted with a friend and laughed and smiled.  Delightful.

I went with my other son to look at a potential house for us.  Lovely.  Free.

I lit a candle in my living room and enjoyed the fragrance.

I watered the plants on my front porch, taking in their color and vividness.

I watched my son create a crazy contraption to keep himself cool at night.

I laughed my head off playing online karaoke with the boys.

And yes, all Divine and sacred experiences.

The marrow of life.

Perhaps those things are the most important things?

When I’m willing to appreciate and accept all moments as pregnant with richness and robustness, then I’ve just converted them from ordinary to beautiful, from normal to blissful.

It really doesn’t take much.  Just takes my sight being adjusted and re-trained.

Just takes a little willingness to be a Converter.  :)

A little willingness to slow down and remember — remember what you are here for and remember the Divinity in all things.

There is a great Abraham Lincoln quote that I love:  “It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Oh may we allow the Sacred to reach into our lives and lure us away from all those things that run us….opinions, schedules, needs, to-do’s, self-protection, etc.

I heard this at a conference on Sunday, and it went in fast and deep:  “I did not come to support mediocrity.  I came to experience freedom at every level of my being and to live joyfully ever after.”

For me, this happens when I go “timeless”, when I step out of the program and live it up right here right now.  If we know and expect that Bliss is around every corner, then we’ll look for it as we would for a lover, and we’ll see what many others around us cannot yet see.

Namaste—I see you.  I see your Light and it illuminates my own.

Julie

My birthday was on Earth Day, April 22^nd.

I had an amazing birthday celebration that went on for days.  It was full of life, joy, laughter, family, and good friends.

And as I reflect back upon all that “went down”, the birthday experience is now full of so many more things than I originally noticed.

As I’ve taken time to “re-live” moments and look carefully at those moments, I am seeing so much more abundance and blessing than I even first experienced or was aware of.

It’s like seeing a photograph of a flower or raindrop really close up in all its vibrancy, color and nuances.  It’s astounding what you can see when you take a moment to sit right in the middle of something.  Breathtaking.  Overwhelming.  Exhilarating.

I wonder how much Goodness passes right by us because we aren’t looking for it?

I wonder how much love we miss when we don’t stop long enough to See, with a capital S?

I wonder how many gifts of God never get acknowledged because we zoom through life?

Now I’m sure we see in part and feel gratitude and even get all excited about it.  But WHAT IF we could see so much more….and feel so much more of the Good life?

The 18^th century Japanese artist, Hokusai, puts it pretty brilliantly:

“Hokusai says look carefully.


He says pay attention, notice. He says keep looking, stay curious.


He says there is no end to seeing…

He says everything is alive -
shells, buildings, people, fish, mountains, trees.


Wood is alive. Water is alive. Everything has its own life.


Everything lives inside of us. He says live with the world inside you.


He says it doesn’t matter if you draw, or write books. It doesn’t matter if you saw wood, or catch fish…

It matters that you care.

It matters that you feel.

It matters that you notice.


It matters that life lives through you.”

-Roger Keyes on Hokusai, famous Japanese artist from 18^th century

So here is how it’s done.

Look and keep looking.  Look from all angles…make it fun, like a child walking around the Christmas tree to see what else is under there with their name on it.

There is so much Good out there EVERY day presenting itself to me through relating, the faces of people, touch, nature, animals, the sky, sounds, words, tastes, etc.

We stop short and we call it good enough.  Hmmm.  Or we settle for WAY less than the best and call it happiness.

It reminds me of those high power juicers that squeeze every last drop from the fruit or vegetable.  I mean…they get it all.  All the nutrients and color and bounty.

I’m out to experience that with Life.

Take time to appreciate everything kind around you.  Notice the color of the eyes with someone you are with.  Take a moment to really look at them.  Notice their smile and how the lines of their face move when they talk.

Think about the care that is being shown to you and let that care sink all the way in. Someone cares for you.  Wow!  If someone does something for you, realize what thought went into that or what they gave to have it turn out.  What energy was poured out for you.

Stop and watch the trees sway or the clouds move.  Stop and smell roses, for real.  Enjoy the delight of that smell……it is a gift for you!

Stop taking for granted compliments.  Accept and receive them.  Maybe someone tells you they love you every day.  When was the last time you really listened to that and went, “Whoa, they love ME.”  How incredible is that?

Here’s the thing….the more we notice, the greater our lives become, and the better this world becomes.  For real.  It’s not just an exercise in gratitude.  It’s what THIS is all about.  Feeling amazing.  Living freely.  Experiencing love wildly.

And I’m telling ya, if we will drink ALL the nutrients of life and love, we will BECOME a people that serve only the Light.

It matters that you notice.

It matters that you look and keep looking.

It matters that life lives through us.

Enjoy a beautiful week,

Julie

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”  Rumi

I was talking on the phone yesterday with my mother, telling her about an experience I’d had with my boys that day that was pretty “out there” let’s just say.  Not your everyday run of the mill teen experience, nor adult one for that matter.

And it was fabulous!

Now for me, today, “alternative” experiences are quite normal and quite wonderful, but there was a long stretch of my life when that was not so.

It was the kind of thing I would not have even discussed in my younger years for fear it was “wrong” or “new age”.

I started laughing with Mom about how rigid I had been in my 20’s and 30’s.  Yes, carefree to a certain point, but oh did I know what was right and wrong and did I ever live it with a passion.

I look back and wonder how I ever made it with such certainty about black and white, good and bad, moral and immoral.  How did I survive the inflexibility, the stifling box of rules, and the muffling sound of “righteousness”?

So much of what I was so sure about has been turned on it’s head, and I’ve come to see what is truly good, holy and beautiful about life and love.

As the Rumi quote above references, I was out to change the world.  I was going forth fiery and impassioned to make a major difference.  I had a vision and a plan!

What’s interesting to me is that it’s really only as I have learned to be flexible and open and allowing of “Love only” that I have started to impact the world.  Yes, perhaps one person at a time, or perhaps a few more than that, but it’s the loveliest of things.

In the past, the “mark” I was leaving was more about me and the crusade of what I deemed holy.  Today it’s only about one thing….Love.  It’s mostly quiet and nonchalant, peaceful and spacious, non-judgmental and accepting.

And it begins with changing myself.  With allowing all things to fall away that do not serve Love.  With being open to the whole world as blessing and teacher to me.  With being curious about “the other” and drinking in the valuable lessons from the myriad of expressions God brings before me.

I am free.  I am living whole.  I am experiencing boundless beauty.

I have chosen a path of soul evolution.  Of awakening.  Of exploring outside the bounds of what is even comfortable at times.  I trust that Wisdom within me will graciously guide me to all resting places….for fear serves no purpose on this path.

The path is unknown yet oddly known, risky and at the same time safe.  It’s filled with inexpressible beauty, and is the BEST place I’ve found to live FREE and unconstrained by mediocrity and status quo.

As Rumi says again, “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.”

My cleverness is on Craig’s list….how about yours?

See ya on the path,

Julie

I’m really excited this week to share with you with my first guest blogger (woots!) and the perfect “Part 2″ to last week’s message on Relating and Love.  Lynnivere is an incredible woman who writes with profound insight and fills every post with wisdom, integrity and authenticity.  Today’s message speaks deeply to me and teaches me anew how to inquire into the purpose and value of the relationships in my life.  I’m so grateful for Lynnivere’s heart and talent.  You will be blessed–she’s the real deal!

Mirrors Ala the Ancient Essenes

The ancient Essenes wrote a great deal about inter-personal relationships and what I call “Mirrors of Relationship” as seen in ourselves and others.  7 different mirrors were described that dealt with everything from longing to addictions.

Seeing ourselves clearly is an excellent way to find balance in our lives.  How we choose to respond, react and interact with others can be very enlightening.  We can learn a great deal about ourselves and solve many of our own internal struggles by understanding our relationship to others.  It’s fascinating how those around us mirror who we really are.  The insight of what we observe through others can make us realize (real eyes) the truest nature of ourselves.

Peer and see if you can recognize how your life is affected by the 3 most common mirrors.

MIRROR OF SELF

The mirror that is seen most often is called the “Mirror of Self”. Most of us are completely unaware that we are looking at things in our lives as though they are outside of our self.  In fact, we often dream in the “Mirror of Self”, as each character in a dream may represent an aspect of our psyche playing out different roles to suss out our subconscious issues.

The “Mirror of Self” occurs when we keep seeing something again and again that we need to address, alter or otherwise desire to change about ourselves.  When we see someone do something that drives us absolutely crazy, it’s usually because it’s something we dislike about yourself & want to change.  This poor unsuspecting person you are secretly criticizing is really just an object of your own manifestation, magnetically pulled to you, so as to remind you that “this” is what you need to work on and change.  It’s all about personal responsibility.

When you find that you keep attracting the same kind of person, the same reasons for getting pulled over by the police, the same uncomfortable job dynamics, the exact same injury and re-injury, the same miscalculation in your accounting time and again, you can thank yourself.  You are merely pointing out to yourself what you specifically need to work on and heal in your life.  Of course, it could be a good pattern and you are showing yourself how wonderfully you have manifested what you want most.

Consider though, when we repress or deny what needs the most attention inside of us, we are likely to create dangerous and sometimes violent situations to force ourselves into action.  Special caution especially for those who don’t take a hint.  This is exactly how some folks end up in the hospital or in seemingly impossible confrontations. They’ve simply ignored all the mirrored suggestions to change behaviours before this critical moment.

The next time someone mirrors something you dislike, pay very close attention to how this applies to you and how you may be able to use that lesson to learn and grow.

Take the time to look deep into the “Mirror of Self”.

MIRROR OF JUDGMENT

You have looked at yourself in a clear mirror and you have examined whether the situation you keep seeing is about you or not.  You have concluded that this mirror is not showing you a problem you have.

Example:  Someone is lying to you.  You have consciously built your life on truth and honesty, so the mirror is not showing you your own dishonesty.  Instead, this mirror is showing you something you judge in others.

Yes, the “Mirror of Judgment” is not necessarily about your own inner self as much as it is an image of what you judge in the people around you.  If you tell the truth and expect others to be equal in telling you the truth, then your judgment of them and their behaviour may be what keeps attracting this experience into your life.

The lesson here is to be careful not to judge others.  It’s one thing to be aware of another’s choices and behaviours, to understand their character and human nature but by judging them, you may be actively keeping yourself stuck in an unhealthy loop with them or others who behave in similar patterns.  When folks show you who they are, you can believe them.  You can trust people to be who they truly are.

MIRROR OF LOSS

You know that experience of catching someones eye and being breath taken?  That crystalline moment of falling in love, either erotically or familialy?  I know it all too well.  In an instant, I’ve fallen for people and wild dogs. If they look at me with clear wide eyes, no ego, I see God every time.  *joyful laughs*

In this mirror we can be around someone for a short time and walk away missing them, at least ostensibly needing them.  Hasn’t it happened where you just met and fireworks are going off in all directions.  You can’t miss it!

In the “Mirror of Loss” we see many things in the other person that we have given up to survive in this life.  In this beautiful person, we can see what we sold or lost along the way.

“She’s so trusting and vibrant.”

“He’s so self-assured and powerful.”

Some examples of natural wellness we may have bargained along the way are excitement, trust, integrity, honesty, belief in yourself, hope and clear communication.

What was the last thing you remember loving in someone you just met?  It may be something you need to consider re-acquiring on your own.  And no, simply having that person in your life will not fill in the blanks.

There are no shortcuts with the “Mirror of Loss”, you have to love yourself enough to go get what is yours.. inside.  Of course, if this person you are enamoured with inspires you to reconnect with missing aspects of yourself, that’s wonderful.  Maybe they are very good for you!  Still, they cannot substitute or fill in the blanks for you.

The real trick is deciphering whether this person represents something you need to restore to yourself or if they are really someone you want to “relate” to on a regular basis.

What mirrors do you see most in your life?

For more of Lynnivere’s fabulous blog click here:   Lynnivere – Spiritual Travel Agent

I’m wondering if there is a university degree called Master of Relating?  I have always enjoyed studying and learning about relating and how to have the best relationships possible.  I think it’s such a fascinating subject, and one that is in every aspect of our lives.  We relate to our co-workers, our pets, ourselves, our God, our spouses, our friends, and even our beliefs.

Over the 46 years of this lifetime, I have experienced incredible love and intimacy in marriage and friendships and in relating with family members and others.  And I have also had my fair share of heartache, pain and unhealthy relating.  Oh boy yes.

It’s the combination of all of the above that compels and draws me to explore the in’s and out’s of living and loving.  How can we be with others with the greatest expression of love and honesty and still be true to ourselves?  What awareness will foster health and well-being and unconditional love?  What is “normal” anyway?

The following paragraph is from Kim Eng, Eckhart Tolle’s partner and associate.  This one paragraph has induced significant changes in the way I view loving and relating with others.

“As long as I have the idea in my head, ‘I have a relationship,’ or ‘I am in a relationship,’ no matter with whom, I suffer.  This I have learned.  With the concept of “relationship” come expectations, memories of past relationships, and further personally and culturally conditioned mental concepts of what a “relationship” should be like.  Then I would try to make reality conform to these concepts.  And it never does. And again I suffer.  The fact of the matter is:  there are no relationships. There is only the present moment, and in the moment there is only relating.  How we relate, or rather how well we love, depends on how empty we are of ideas, concepts, expectations. “

Since reading this I have been substituting the word “relating” for “relationship”.  Just this subtle shift has brought about greater awareness in me as to what I am really up to with another.  All I have is the present moment with another.  And when I’m keyed in to this, I can bring my open loving self to the moment, not based on the past and not there to make something happen in the future.

My tendency throughout my life has been one of idealism with “relationships.”  It has seemed so innate within me to find someone I like and then create a “relationship” that is incredibly idealistic.  This rarely works.  Oh yes, it might for awhile, perhaps even for a few years, but eventually this quixotic “form” I’ve created will break down.  It comes with expectations… and the “special” label I’ve put on the “relationship” backfires.

It backfires because no one was ever meant to provide the relevance I want.  No one was meant to become greater than my alignment with my Source.  And I was meant to love unconditionally—radically and profoundly so.  Freely, openly, authentically, needing nothing in return.

“For relationship is the holiest of all places—relationship between any two who choose to look upon each other, having looked within and found no lack.  For those two people can then look out upon one another and see only perfect innocence, only perfect peace, only perfect Love.”    Way of Mastery

When I practice relating in lieu of trying to keep a “relationship form” looking a certain way, then love prevails.  When I focus on my own alignment with God and on my alignment with the wholeness of who I am, then love prevails.  Love wins.

We will never succeed in propping up a form with effort and ego.

It’s time to realize that it’s never actually about the other person making us feel a certain way, it’s about their influence on us coming into alignment with the fullness of who we really are.  And vice versa.

These experiences of relating are to make us conscious beings.  Conscious men and women being offered the glorious opportunity to find our relevance in connection to the One who is the author of Love…..to the One who is all Love.  And then to extend this holiness to others.

When this occurs, it is pure bliss, and nothing that we think the other can give us can compare. 

I’ve fallen in love with Love, and it is the sweetest of all.

How can it get any better than this?

Enjoy your relating this week!

julie

As some of you might know it’s the time of the NCAA College tournaments, called March Madness.  Something about that title reminds me of what I don’t want in my life…..madness, craziness, drama, hecticness, and busy-ness.

As we are winding down March and heading into a new month, I thought we could look at what our experience of life has been this month and perhaps set ourselves up to experience something new in April.

Now perhaps you have had a wonderful month of March—I sure have!  And I would not say it’s been madness at all, and yet still there is a greater deeper experience I am beholding for April.

I just returned from a week long ski trip with my two teenage sons.  If any of you saw my Facebook status you would know it was heavenly!  We got there right in the middle of loads of fresh powder so the skiing was supreme.

The name of our resort was Solitude, and that name turned out to so characterize our whole trip.

Solitude is the best kept secret I guess, nestled in the mountains of Utah…this quiet small village where hardly anyone was, so no lift lines and no crowded warming huts.  Just fun healthy avid skiers looking for a great time.

My boys slept til mid-morning every day so I would rise early and have about three hours to myself.  From our 4^th floor balcony we had an incredible view of the mountain and slopes.  Our condo was situated at the base of the mountain, so I had a great view from the sofa I sat on each morning sitting quietly in front of the fire.  It was idyllic.

So there I was, all those hours every day, being quiet, being still, thinking, praying, and reading.  No agenda, nothing to accomplish, nothing to do particularly, just space to be.  And as much as I loved it, I was also restless in it at times.

I realized how used to having a list and checking it off I am.  And it was so rich for me to still myself that much for that long.  And truly not to think about “what’s next”.

I found a new connection to my center.  To that place of deep stillness.  And in that, also, a tremendous bond with nature.  The mountain became my best friend and my lover.  The mountain displayed Goodness to me all day and all night.  The mountain provided a stability and solidness to my very being.

It was always right there calling me to trust, to believe, to know, and to love.  For I realized that the mountain is always stable.  It’s immovable.  It doesn’t get tossed to and fro, it doesn’t get anxious about anything.  Storms can come and go and it’s still the same—majestic and centered.

This is who I am and am becoming.  I am solid and stable, like the mountain.

I am free, like the mountain.

I am centered in Source, like the mountain.

I am love, like the mountain.

I choose to live in majesty, no matter what comes and goes in my life and no  matter who comes and goes in my life.   I choose to awaken day after day presenting myself to the world as a mountain of love, presenting myself as one living moment by moment, appreciating kindness and compassion.

Life is right here right now.  It’s never “later”.

If you have created a life of madness, then uncreate that and have what you really want.  I realize it might take some time to make the shifts, but it’s very possible.

Who or what is running your life?

Perhaps you’ve come to rely on the madness, perhaps it’s become your safety.  That’s a whole other blog topic, but for now, why not take some time today to be still and examine what you are actualizing in your life.

I highly recommend the affirmation:  I am stable and solid , like the mountain.

Go deep with it, get it inside of you, feel it all the way to the core.  Feel the majesty of the solidity.  Feel the Grace of the stability.

This is God in you.  This is who you are.

Let’s have April be a month of enjoying all the moments.  A time of blissful centeredness.  May Spring burst up all around us, inside and out!

If you are into college basketball, then by all means enjoy the March Madness.  And as for the game of YOUR life, be still and know…have fun…fall in love…..solid, stable, un-madness.

Much love,

Julie

P.S.  For those of you on Facebook I would so appreciate you “Liking” my page:  Julie Gosh: Harmony Coaching and Consulting

I’m heading off to the mountains of Utah tomorrow to go skiing with my teenage boys, so I am posting this a day early.  I’m so excited to go on this trip…I feel like I’m off to meet a lover or something.  For real, it’s like I know I am going to meet someone very dear that has a message and a gift for us. I don’t that this “someone” is a literal person….more like the mountains are the person, waiting to envelop us with God, with Good.

So this has me thinking, isn’t every day like this trip?  Could it be?  Could I live with the same expectancy of Good each day when I get out of bed?  And what if I did?  What if I chose to think and feel and imagine with the same zeal and eagerness that I have today in preparation for this trip?

Ummmmm….

Do you ever wonder what this life is all about?  Like do you ever just stop and in a moment wonder?  In the middle of doing your grocery shopping, in the middle of the shower, while you are cleaning house, walking your dog, or waking up in the morning?

I certainly do.  AND, even though I am pretty darn clear what this life is for, I’m engaging this inquiry in a fresh new way.

I’m engaging it in a moment kind of way.  Let me explain.  I think it’s one thing to have this overall philosophy about why you are here and what this all is for.  Wonderful, important, keep it anchoring you.

The new way for me involves pausing or stopping throughout my day and first just becoming very present.  Silencing all the thoughts and realizing this moment alone.

First I tune into my senses and take in the surrounding smells, sights, sounds and touches.  I just hang here a moment and go deep into now.

Then I take my awareness to my heart and enjoy the calm and strength of this place.  I drink in the loving energy of Goodness that originates with Source, with God.

Then here is the really cool part to me.  I ask this question, “How can I receive the most from this moment of becoming?

What this does is it takes me straight to simplicity.  The simplicity of my being-ness.  Doesn’t matter what I’m engaged with or what my day is like, this question is an immediate tether to what I want to be about right now.

If you are in the moment sick in your body, this question can inspire you to a place of allowing and acceptance and receiving.

If you are in the moment struggling in a relationship, this question can support your awareness of how you are being and can align you again to love.

If you are in a moment of concern, this question can open up for you the provision to trust what you cannot see, and also to create something brand new.

If you are in a wonderful moment, this question can infuse you with even greater delight and expectancy.

No matter what moments you experience in your day, engaging your heart with this question can be a Divine re-calibration to what matters.  And what I love is the word “receive”.  Ahh, yes, receive.  I believe that all the Peace and Love we want is ever-present for us, and when we can learn to receive fully, we will behold this confidently.

It’s really not complicated or hard.  We humans do like to complicate things!  “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”  Confucius

The more we practice this, the more we practice just being in the energy of Love, moment by moment, we will experience Good upon Good upon Good upon Good.

Do not let your circumstances be your truth unless they are exactly what you dream of.  We are not of this world.  We are spiritual first, Divine, and of the realm of Unconditional Love and Bounty!

Moment by moment, day by day, we are seeing, we are realizing, and we are actualizing all that we dream of.  Hold fast, stay in center, and please have fun!  

Receiving,

Julie

This week I’m inspired by a sort-of kid’s film called The Rise of the Guardians.  Have you seen it?  Wow, the messages coming from this animated film are many and they are loud.  My teenage sons always laugh at me when they see me taking notes during a movie.  They are like, “For your blog mom?”

Without trying to give you context for the whole movie and characters, because I think I might lose you, I’ll do my best to share what resonated with me for today.

The basic story of the movie is that there are these Guardians appointed to protect the hearts of children across the world.  They are appointed to be role models, to instill joy and kindness and wonder, and to, through their goodness, essentially protect the children from fear.

One of the main questions posed in the movie is, “What is your center?”

What is your center, meaning, at the core of you, what are you here for?  What drives you?  What is the inspiration behind your choices for life?

For one main character it is:  Wonder

For another:  Fun

The others:  Hope, Dreams, Memories

For each of these characters, this “center” is the driving force behind how they stand as guardians over the children of the world.  It’s how they care for the children, how they love them and what they represent.  For each one this shows up very uniquely.

So I started to think about us, here on planet earth…..what if we saw ourselves as Guardians?  All of us, here to save the world with our Light.  Here to be the guardians of hope, love, wonder, and fun.

And what if we are here to guard the child within us and within others?  Not necessarily just the literal children, but the child inside each of us?

Isn’t it our childlike faith and way of seeing that Jesus said will enter the Kingdom?

Isn’t it the adult in us that has grown rigid, tight, fearful, and controlling?  Isn’t it the adult that has quit believing in goodness and has succumbed to the matrix of cultural norms?

For a moment, I want you to pretend you are a newly appointed guardian.  And as you introduce yourself to the others you say, “I am (name), Guardian of _____”

What is at your center?

What, in you, when you walk in it, saves the day for others?

What provides safe passage for those who’ve lost their way?

What feeds the Light and overcomes darkness?

What are you committed to cause on this earth?  What experience do you want others to have when they are with you?

Marianne Williamson once said that it’s our Light that most frightens us, not our darkness.  That we are scared by how glorious and powerful we really are.  She goes on to say that when we allow ourselves to shine we give others the power to do the same.  “There is nothing enlightened about shrinking…”

Let’s truly be the Guardians we were created to be.  Let’s create our days such that we empower the child within each of us.  Let’s play and have fun!  I really believe we are here to have a grand old time.  Even in the midst of difficulties, if we will remember we are here for freedom, we will begin to manifest more and more of that.

As you walk around this week, in the grocery store and at the dentist and in your neighborhood, stand tall, walk as a Guardian, look around for who might need what you came to Presence.

Is it Love?  Peace?  Grace?  Joy?  Kindness?  Openness?

And perhaps on any given day it’s something new.  Just enjoy this.  Enjoy being the Light you are.  Enjoy giving it away everywhere you go, and watch how people around you light up.

You are not lacking in anything, do you know that?  Dive into that heart center and you will find all Provision.

Standing for LOVE,

Julie