Chapter 5
Possibility
Refining
Ripples
Possibility
Earth Day
Lions and tigers and chamomile, oh my!
Thirteen Moons
Change is in the Wind
Into the Future
Refining
April 02, 2013
As the light on Earth intensifies, the incoming solar waves change all of us. Energy, frequency and vibration continue in their dance, influenced by increasing cosmic radiation which ultimately affects us at the cellular level.
Metaphorically, light illumines that which has heretofore been hidden from view. In a very real sense, we’ve been hidden from ourselves. From generation to generation limiting concepts have been passed down as though they are real. What we accept as “real” is now changing, for we no longer fit inside the boxes which, earlier on, have defined our parameters. We are discovering more of “who we are”. Our hearts are blossoming.
With each new dawn I’m feeling new excitement — and new opportunity for refinement.
This refining is ongoing regardless of whatever I may be doing in the outer world way.
Quietly, I’m looking into a mirror which consistently reminds me of an aspect of my soul's reality which I had forgotten. This mirroring opens a door to true magic. Perception shifts; the dance of energy and light expands. I’m aware that “we dance together in time once more”. And what a fascinating dance it is! Changes occurring within ourselves find their way into expression, step by step.
Increasingly, past and present and future are perceived in the same moment. We are at once outside of time, and in time. We are refining into a new way of being. We are arriving into full presence “right here, right now”. And the energy dance continues, delightfully...
Each day, in the “present”, I find that I’m aware of an energy dance which has been taking place across time — one which coalesces “right here, right now”. Words from a poem which introduces the concluding section of Journey Through an Open Door, “The Dawning”, echo:
feet on the earth we dance
together in time
once more
refining
expressing
remembering
enhancing
who we are
Come sit a while and tell your story
Words are not needed — simply be
Where are you now and where are you going?
What do you wish to see?
( from the song "Arrival", 2009)
Ripples
April 09, 2013
It was early when I awoke into a beautifully quiet morning in Maine during a mini-vacation in a coastal area that formerly was my home. The question which had been in my awareness when I drifted into sleep was still with me. Shortly, I must make a decision because one choice involved eight hours of travel; for that, I would need to leave later in the day.
Well before the pre-dawn twilight I slipped into meditation. As I was breathing slowly and deeply, a lovely and relaxing image appeared. I saw a pond, the waters placid. In this dreamlike landscape I felt encouraged to throw a pebble into the pond. Words accompanied the image. “Where do you want to create the ripples?”
In this new context, I considered my choice. Soon the answer to my immediate question was clear. I decided to continue my reconnection with this special place, and with friends I hadn’t seen in a while. It was more than enjoyment. It was also an opportunity to be energized and nourished by the natural beauty of the area, a place with which I had felt a rapport for years.
The other possible choice? Very different. While enjoying my sojourn where the mountains meet the sea in Maine, I received an invitation to participate in a gathering with a “new consciousness” teacher whose perspective is unique. The intended focus of the event with this delightful man, whom I had met previously, sounded interesting. I appreciated the opportunity, which had been presented to me as “an expansion”. Sometimes what may present itself as an expansion is really a side trip. That had been my dilemma. I did not know.
When the “ripples” image came to me, it was easier to discern my choice. I personally didn’t need to create any ripples at that gathering. The better choice was to stay present with myself, and stay focused on an overview which had been introduced about three weeks earlier when I had received the inspiration to write Golden Pebbles: Celebrating the New Earth. Because the new book was to be completed by a specific date, I was moving into a new focus for about a year. Each day of relaxation was an opportunity to energize a process — and myself as well.
What I’ve been describing took place three and a half years ago. Since then, the image of ripples on the surface of water has been etched in my awareness — together with the question “Where do you want to create the ripples?” I’ve learned that this has countless applications. We all create ripples — constantly — whether consciously or not.
There are ways in which we create profound ripples succinctly, in brief moments: a warm smile, random kindness, playful laughter. Expressions of delight create ripples. Enthusiasm creates ripples. Joyfulness creates ripples.
Ripples are more effective if they are in alignment with the higher vibrational heart-centered planetary consciousness, and thus in harmony with the increasing frequency of solar energy.
Thoughts are electric. Feelings are magnetic. Thoughts that are non-expansive limit potential energy fields and awareness. Heart-based feelings produce radiating and expansive energy fields which can be shared liberally without diminishing. These energy fields are increased by the awareness of energy intercommunication. In ancient lineages this was called “everything is one”, “we are all one”, “the web of life”, etc.
Creating ripples is unavoidable through human expression. The ripples tend to return to their point of origin. Therefore, awareness of the ripple quality we are sending forth is opportune.
For me, this has become a playful exercise. It is as simple as remembering that a smile will change the energy of nearly every interaction. It is as complex as remembering that we humans have more power than we are aware. The more carefully we make our choices in creating ripples — radiating positive energy — the more magic we can create. Possibility becomes probability. Probability becomes wondrous and joyful experience!
“Where do you want to create the ripples?”
Possibility
April 16, 2013
With each new dawn, excitement grows. It is a feeling, increasingly intense, and I do not have a label for it.
I find that possibility taps me on my shoulder, and turns my head around and says, "Here is something new. What if?"
I do not need rose-colored glasses to see that all the surprises which now greet me seem to have a warmly humorous cosmic smile attached, as if to say, "Here is another of those heretofore missing pieces. This is the time of arrival."
Arrival where? Fully present in a place which has been hidden far longer than time has been counted, yet held as a memory — a knowingness accessible only through alignment with one’s soul.
Reality shifts. Possibility has no limits. That which we dream takes form.
The process of vision-into-form is accelerated as the solar waves of change increase our electromagnetic conductivity. These new levels of conductivity can be felt as undifferentiated intensity.
Through our clarity of focus and intention, we can give this intensity somewhere to go; it is magic that we hold in our hands.
If we can become lovers of every moment — and everything held within each moment — the rheostat for wondrous possibility goes up.
Can you feel the possibility? Can you feel the radiant magic in your hands?
Earth Day
April 22, 2013
Evolution is happening. As consciousness is speeding up, it is producing a planetary cleansing that is removing those who cannot or will not harmonize with the waves of change. As likes attract, disparate energies move away from each other. The Mayans indicated that divergence would occur and you can see it happening. A civilization cannot be both in harmony with the Earth and in violation of the Earth at the same time. The weakest link is the one that always breaks. Harmony and simplicity engender balance and strength. Unconsciousness does not.
Almost all plants and trees are enjoying the increase in carbon dioxide levels and flourishing — harking back to a time when carbon dioxide was so abundant that ferns were typically sixty feet high and Earth was a lush jungle. The arrogance of the statements directed toward the demise of the planet are really portents of the demise of portions of the human population on the surface of the planet — the demise of the inflexible, those who are not in harmony with the changes.
The very deepest hole that humans have dug into the Earth is just a few miles. Thus, "property ownership" which conveys mineral rights to the center of the Earth is highly underused. Even if the myths of underground cities are true and those cities are potentially dozens of miles underground, their depth is still proportionally insignificant; furthermore, no human presence could be deeper because of excessive heat. Therefore, from Earth's perspective most all of civilization could be considered surface blemishes. It is humans who have caused these blemishes and humans who are most at risk. Species will adapt and regenerate. This can be seen readily from the wildlife zones around Chernobyl and between the Koreas. Humans left, and animals moved in. These areas have regressed back toward their original condition — how they were before human interference.
More sunlight is shining on Earth than ever before and it is brighter and whiter. If one is not old enough to personally remember the color difference in the sun, all one has to do is look at an antique children's picture book. The color frequency change is due to the fact that light itself is speeding up and everything in existence is doing likewise in its wake. As the front of the caterpillar moves faster, ultimately so does the end — with some transitional awkwardness in between. Those who are enjoying the increased opportunity to absorb energy and be nurtured by it are becoming happier with their awareness level of, and communication with, the Earth. Those who do not understand the changes are likely not enjoying them.
Divergence as indicated by the Mayans becomes more obvious every day. Earth Day is celebrated every day by some, and ignored every day by others. This is divergence. And this is the future.
It is impossible to measure if things would be "less worse" if global civilization had accepted the responsibility of Earth Day at its inception in 1970.
Lions and tigers and chamomile, oh my!
April 30, 2013
As I find myself happily dancing amid the energy waves of change, I also find that in the intensity of now it’s essential to unwind a bit before each new dawn — and whatever possibilities and delights that might bring. In this context I recently remembered chamomile tea.
Chamomile and I were introduced when I was in my twenties and wanted to acquaint myself with herbal teas. In the natural foods store which served the hub of two coastal Maine peninsulas, I found three “tisanes” from Switzerland — spearmint and rose hips and chamomile. Among the three herbal teas, I found it impossible to enjoy chamomile. Since that time, whenever the subject of chamomile comes up, I’ve consistently said, “No, thank you.”
Recently, I decided to consider changing my relationship with chamomile. I spoke with the long time friend who is my consultant on all things related to well-being.
“Really! What exactly do you mean?”
“I had no idea where I was. I was just headed in a general direction, vaguely following the path of St. Tulsidas, and a valley happened to be in the way.”
“St. Tulsidas?”
“He was a famous humanitarian and he walked from the south of India to the north doing good deeds.”
“Interesting.”
“The villagers kept trying to tell me to go into the mountains and go around the valley, but it just looked like flowers to me. I thought they might be sacred to the cow or something. And since I didn’t do milk I thought I was cool.”
“Hmmm.” I had no idea what was coming next in his story.
“I figured a lot of strange stuff was sacred to these people and I tried not to let their idiosyncrasies bother me. I had a penchant for going in a straight line because I could. Generally I climbed over any obstacle in the way — even when it was easier to go around — just because I wanted to, for the exercise. There was never enough exercise. So I continued on my merry way through the charming little flowers, until they lost their charm. I soon realized that the villagers were all living on the upwind side of a very fragrant valley.
“What do you think St. Tulsidas would have done?”
“Being a real Indian he would have sat down on the upwind side. He would have picked a few flowers, made tea, and waited for the harvest. As for example the traditional way of changing a bus tire, in rural India, is to make tea and consider the situation.”
I laughed at this picture. He, however, was not laughing.
“Instead of sitting on the upwind side or going around through the mountains, I continued on down the ox path through the center of the valley. After several miles, at about the halfway point, I began considering Alice in Wonderland and the field of poppies. And I wondered if someone could become mummified in chamomile pollen which apparently likes to stick to hot, moist people.”
He paused his story for a moment and asked, “Do you know you can taste through your skin? And that there’s too many parts per million of chamomile pollen in every breath?” He then said, “The British used the word lethargic in referring to some of the local population. My experience suggests they may have seriously understated the matter. Paralyzed and anesthetized seemed more to the point as I tried to continue and I found myself wondering if I was moving or not. It was hard to make that big of a decision. I really couldn’t tell if I was walking or thought I was. I’ve experienced a lot of weird personal events, but that was one of the more difficult ones. My encounter with chamomile was unique in its own way. I just... wanted... to go... to sleep. It was only the force of will that kept me going, or more accurately the force of won’t. I won’t give way to anything. Period.”
His story gave new meaning to the slogan “Flower Power”. With this, my imagination took flight. Within moments I soared through images of millions of tiny, daisy-like flowers innocently facing the sun under a blue sky in a peaceful and remote valley. And the trekking visitor determined to emerge from the chamomile challenge and continue on his way — which, fortunately, had been the outcome.
When I landed, he was scowling. “I still hate chamomile.”
His story gave me a new perspective on chamomile. That the blossoms are relaxing is surely not a myth.
“I hate chamomile,” he said.
“And why is that?” I asked, noticing how emphatic he was.
“It’s because I had the equivalent of ten thousand cups of chamomile tea in one day. And I did it all without water.”
He sounded displeased at the very thought of chamomile, but I was intrigued. “What actually happened?”
“When crossing India on foot I often woke up from peaceful sleep with lions and tigers watching me. I was quite comfortable. Until I encountered chamomile.”
A few days ago, I went to the local tea emporium and asked about blends which included chamomile. The enthusiastic associate who was helping me said, “This one has the most chamomile.”
“Lovely. I’ll try that. Thank you.”
I paid for my purchase and left. I don't know why I was feeling triumphant. I hadn't yet sampled the tea. "I'm addressing this issue," I said to myself firmly, recognizing that my words were more of a command to myself than a statement. "Perhaps I'll even like the chamomile blend. That, however, isn't a requirement."
The following evening, I steeped my first cup of this new iteration on the chamomile theme. Chamomile was present, but subdued. It was nothing like what I remembered of the long ago and far away “tisane”. Relaxing? I cannot really tell. I feel it’s the ritual more than the tea. Or perhaps the honey that I added. Regardless, chamomile no longer is daunting for me. And I am feeling oh-so-relaxed about that.
Thirteen Moons
May 01, 2013
Outside of time
in time
balancing
Can you join me in this place
where forever is within
this moment called now…
(from Journey Through an Open Door, “The Dawning”)
It is the first of May as I write. In Mother Nature’s world, the loveliness of mid-Spring is everywhere apparent. Under a cloudless blue sky today, flowering trees blossom white and pink. The tiny spring green leaves on the venerable maples and oaks which dwarf the houses here are noticeably larger than they were at dawn. Among the wildflowers, yellows and violets now predominate. The warming sun reigns over all activity on Earth — more than we realize. Thus the title of this website: Facing the Sun.
Today is the first anniversary of this website — and my “Right Here Right Now” blog. My writing intention, one year ago today, was to post a new entry each week —whatever I felt inspired to write. Except for the overall theme, I had no idea what would land on these pages over the weeks and months — thirteen moons. Why am I counting “time” in moons?
Change takes place within the cycles of the natural world: the cycle of the seasons, the waxing and the waning of the moon, the cycle of the day — sunrise, sunset, sunrise. Earth rhythms, and the sky rhythms to which we are attuned, are essentially circular. The Gregorian calendar by which time is currently counted on Earth, linear fashion, has nothing to do with these rhythms — and no real meaning in relation to the natural world.
Human perception of time is evolving. Human perception itself evolves in correspondence with the increase in the speed of light. Human energy awareness is increasing. Energy itself has manifested experience which has resulted in the perception of existence as real. With the increase of the speed of light, all energy manifestations are speeding up to compensate — and to keep their place within creation, or not.
The perception of historical time as real ceases to happen when — on a personal level — the energy lost in withheld expression is recovered. As energy blockages which are held in the body are released, this allows for a growing sense of freedom — and the ability to increase one’s personal vibrational energy field. As one continues to become self aware, energy-wise, it becomes more and more obvious that everything is energy, everything is connected, and “forever” is right here right now.
Can you join me in this place where forever is within this moment called now?
Change is in the Wind
May 07, 2013
One never knows what, from the “past”, is going to transition into the “present” seamlessly as though no time has elapsed between the two events. A few days ago I remembered a conversation which took place early in 2002, during my second winter in Arizona’s high desert.
Following a sweat lodge, I was speaking with Ryah, a woman I had previously met only briefly — perhaps once or twice. She and I were among the ten or so participants in the lodge. Though the overall context of our conversation hasn’t stayed with me, I clearly remember one of her comments. “Most people know what they don’t want,” said she, “but they do not have a vision of what they do want.” Since the “vision” to which Ryah referred was an almost reach-out-and-touch awareness for me, I was startled by her words. Ryah brought me face to face with a “reality” I hadn’t considered. What is it like to be without a vision, without a feeling of unlimited possibility?
As I remembered Ryah’s and my conversation, I also remembered a progression which had begun in December of 1992 on Mount Desert Island, Maine where — as in the American Southwest — there is a strong layer of Native American spirit presence. I’m not going to repeat here what has been described in Golden Pebbles: Celebrating the New Earth except to say that, while journeying in the dreamtime — on the island — I was given a vision that eventually took me to the high desert for two winters.
Before the pathway to Arizona opened in a specific way, I was among a circle of participants in a pipe ceremony with a Native American Elder whose lineage was particularly unique. Within this circle, under the shade of maple trees on a warm August 1996 afternoon in the New England countryside, the elder recognized each of three women as “medicine woman”. I was one of the three — the quiet one. The others seemed to have concepts about their roles. I hadn’t a clue. “Medicine woman” was a complete surprise to me. In retrospect, I see the elder was shrewd. By acknowledging us, he turned us loose to do whatever. For me, it was as though I had been told, “Here is the next phase of your adventure. Pay attention.”
When informed about the pipe ceremony, and how it had so surprised me, a friend with strong Native American connections succinctly said, “It’s high time you recognized it.”
Quietly I cooperated fully with this new awareness, whatever it meant, and wherever it would lead. As far as I know there is no specific definition for "medicine woman". It is a quality of being and it seems to be innate. It is a capacity for “spirit medicine”. The expression is as individual as each “medicine woman”.
My “medicine woman” focus completely eclipsed any possibility of a personal life as I followed the step by step pathway which unfolded in front of me. In August of 2002, only months after my conversation with Ryah, the first of the “Songs of Intention and Celebration” began to arrive with me — inspired words expressing a vision in songs to be accompanied primarily by the heartbeat rhythm of the drum. As each new song was introduced, over a period of eight years, it was included with sunrise or sunset drumming ceremonies.
My “medicine woman” role became clearly defined, having three aspects: writing, drumming and singing at sunrise, and focus with others — primarily as a listener encouraging balance and wholeness and the clearing of energy blocks.
All along this pathway the medicine woman part of me has been consistently nourished in the arms of Mother Nature, my batteries have been recharged in the beautiful outdoors, and the overall vision expressed in the songs has been — for me — a mantra. This has pulsed through my veins and altered my DNA — leading to a new opening, a new doorway.
My attention began to shift in steady increments after the publication of Golden Pebbles in March of 2011. By early December 2011, I could feel the pull of a new direction. Beginning these “Right Here Right Now” blogs in May of 2012 was a step into that new direction — a new focus with a new intention — one especially close to my soul’s knowing. And where would that lead? I did not know.
I began to know in December 2012 when, at a pivotal time, I returned to the island where the dreamtime vision had occurred twenty-one years earlier. In the chill of a gloriously clear morning, I walked through an invisible doorway to the dimension where that which has been envisioned can now manifest on Earth for those who choose it. Nothing has been the same since. And change — in my personal world — has been consistently gathering momentum. The winds of change have been ongoing.
It is clear that seventeen years in the role of “medicine woman” have been quite enough. In a very real sense, the bookends for this medicine woman adventure are two specific areas on the Maine coastline — the island where the dreamtime vision came to me in 1992, and my favorite facing-the-sun drumming place along the shoreline.
As soon as possible, I’m returning to those special places — embracing the new. I’m going to face the sun, and simply enjoy being — opening fully to that which is arriving, step by perfect step.
One of my favorite songs-as-mantra is “Now is the Time”, written in 2007. Among the words are these:
Change is in the wind
a new direction
calling, calling...
Vision into form
arriving clearly
pathway open...
Now is the time
to paint our dreams
and mold the clay
create our world — our way.
“In the chill of a gloriously clear morning, I walked through an invisible doorway to the dimension where that which has been envisioned can now manifest on Earth for those who choose it.”
Into the Future
May 14, 2013
When I awoke well before dawn, the storm clouds of recent days had dispersed. The now star-filled sky would soon be followed by a beautiful sunrise — exactly what I had hoped for this morning. It was time to leave for the beach and be present for the magic of another new beginning.
Gradually the stars faded from view as I traveled down the peninsula to the shoreline along the bay. It was twilight when I began the familiar half-hour walk to my favorite stretch of the secluded beach. Birdsong accompanied my sense of anticipation as I walked.
Arriving at my point of access to the beach, across the dunes, I stopped abruptly. Where earlier the pathway had sloped gently to the beach, there was now a fourteen foot drop! Retracing my steps back to another access area, I was presented with yet another surprise: everything brought in by the recent storm surges had been deposited on higher ground — a grassy area well above the beach. From that vantage point, as I made my way through the debris to the beach, I saw that all traces of the usual high water mark — seaweed, driftwood — were gone.
The geologist’s comments did not surprise me. How could anyone, with a careful eye, not notice? And, having noticed, then what?
For me, the “then what?” was inextricably linked to my own sense of place. I’ve been returning to that beach, at intervals, for years. Since the longest I’ve lived anywhere — thus far — is little more than eight years, that lovely beach has represented continuity for me much longer than any of the places I’ve called home. On that April morning I saw that the continuity was now eroding — quite literally. I recognized clearly that it was time to accustom myself to the idea of creating a new sense of place. Part of my choice was — and is — higher ground.
That memorable April storm, which I experienced as a turning point, occurred six years ago. Since then my sense of place has been evolving, as has my focus. (See last week’s blog, “Change is in the Wind”.) My focus has been shifting into a growing feeling-based understanding that everything in the universe is energy, and thus light at some frequency of vibrational materialization — including “my” beach along the shoreline.
Like the beach, many of us are evolving into new forms. For us, unlike the beach, this includes unprecedented levels of well-being as possibility. Lest this sound mystical, in fact this view of “reality” is supported by quantum physics. Perception of oneself as light — energy expressed as form — is one of the principles expressed by physicists as key to making experiences, like unprecedented well-being, a reality.
We live in a tangible reach-out-and-touch-world — that which we perceive with our senses — concurrent with our perception of vibrational frequency. They are different aspects of the same perception — like listening to someone’s voice while also reading body language.
The process of becoming conscious in the midst of the experience of being materialized light energy — which we all are — will provide a feeling-based understanding of timelessness and how everything is one. To experience this understanding, even for a moment as “time” is counted, is to go through a doorway.
Psychologists say that every individual has one mystical experience and then spends the rest of his or her life trying to find out how to repeat it. Obviously, most are less than successful. Mystics, seers and saints have all suggested how simple it is to change the perceptual attention point. That simple change is not easily achieved amongst hubbub, for it is essential to hear creation’s faint whisper above humanity’s loudest roar.
With the higher vibrational frequency solar energy now constantly arriving on Earth, feeling-based understandings of timelessness and oneness are becoming more readily accessible. We are also being bathed in higher amounts of full spectrum light. Since we ourselves are light-compressed-into-form, it is impossible for us to be unaffected by this solar energy. We can choose to consciously dance with this solar energy — a dance of celebration that we have come so far in our awakening into unlimited potential.
My experience on the pristine beach six years ago mirrored to me a point of personal change which has been ongoing, step by step, ever since. Although higher ground beckons, I continue to enjoy my long standing relationship with the sandy shoreline and the tidal pools and the fragrant rosa rugosa.
When I face the horizon line at dawn to greet the sun, I feel sure that full presence in the beauty of now is the clearest pathway into the future — and possibility is truly unlimited.
The beach appeared utterly untouched! It was as though no one had ever stepped upon it! To be the first person to arrive in this pristine place — and to enjoy the sunrise in unique circumstances — was truly a gift.
Much as I enjoyed the perfectly smooth sand which sparkled in the early sunlight as I walked, it was clear to me that this gift had another aspect. This was the first sunrise following an April storm which had caused flooding in many coastal areas. And this special place was now permanently altered by erosion. It would never be the same again. Nor would my own sense of “place”.
I told friends about my experience on the beach, and my impressions about the storm damage. A couple of weeks later I received a call from one of them. They had seen a documentary on public television which included a segment about that beach. “A geologist was there, talking about the changes. He said exactly what you said about the erosion and permanent change.”
We hold the rainbow light of possibility
We walk inside a dream where we may clearly see
We are the weavers, weaving
We are the dreamers and we are the dream.
(from “Weaving”, a Song of Intention and Celebration, 2004)