kindness

Dayle in Limoux – Dayle #43

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* ✧  ✧   *    .   *   * .  .   ✧ ✧   *    .     .     ✧     .     * .  *   . ✧  ✧   *    .   * ✧  ✧   *    .   *   * .  .   ✧

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.  *   .    * . There is magic in this world and you’re part of it.     *    .   *

 ✧        *    .    *    ✧   * .  .    -Sydney Azari    .   *   .   * ✧  ✧   *    .   *
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‘I use my body as it was meant to be used, as a vessel of light, to express ℒℴve. I protect my body against the assaults of modernity from thoughts of

  c h a o s

to the contaminates of the physical environment, infusing my body with the light of the divine.’

-Marianne Williamson

🌼

Marianne’s prayer is basically a Cathar approach to their beliefs. There’s a devil and a god and that everything material (including the body) was the domain of evil, and the ethereal soul was the domain of God and that life was about the keeping the soul GOOD and PURE. To be a light and a conduit for spirit. Baptism was a vessel of purification. They revered John the Baptist. If in this life they did not achieve their goal, the goal of purity, they were reincarnated. Not unlike the Hindus belief of samskaras (earthly conditioning) and moksha, ending the cycle of death and re-birth through purification at the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. The underlying similarities between many religions and faiths is truly remarkable, especially in the Jewish faith and practices in Egypt and Iran. There was a lot of borrowing and re-shaping over the centuries, and yet, the ugly inhumane violence and destruction in the name of those beliefs is beyond understanding. The Cathars would probably just say, “Well, yeah. That’s the Rex Mundi part of this existence, the evil…the devil. The human experience.”

Might be a good time to listen to the ever optimistic Coldplay with their song ‘Humankind.’ I listened to it today after Rolling Stone posted about the group’s new video for the ‘Music of the Spheres’ track. They’re holding on to h o p e for the humans.

Rolling Stone

Coldplay Break Out the Fireworks for Euphoric ‘Humankind’ Video

I know, I know, I know
We’re only human
I know, I know, I know
How we’re designed
Oh I know, I know, I know
We’re only human
But we’re capable of kindness
So they call us humankind

Some of us, especially in the u.s.a., just need a lot more practice.

It rains in France!

And it’s 72 degrees!

Woo-Hoo! Doing the Languedoc happy dance. :)

Now, bring on the flooding since the drought has dried everything and the earth can’t absorb. You know, I think the river already looks higher. They run these test sirens for flooding that sound like WWII air raids. Glad I had been told me about them early after my arrival or I would have taken shelter under the bed thinking Putin had gotten feisty.

From France 24 and AFP News:

‘The French weather service warned Wednesday of flash flooding risks across much of the south, where a historic drought has parched the rugged Mediterranean hills, a day after fierce rainstorms lashed much of the country.’

And the fires. Spain firefighters are having a harrowing effort battling blazes as have many in France this summer.

The Independent

‘Firefighters ran from towering flames as they tackled the Bejís fire in Castellón, eastern Spain, on Tuesday afternoon, 16 August. Footage shows firefighters repeatedly shouting “fuera”, which means “get out,” as huge flames and plumes of smoke close in. The fire has burned over 1,900 acres (800 hectares) so far. Around 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, Valencia’s president Ximo Puig said. At least 11 people were injured after they evacuated a train travelling near the flames through Castellón.’

There’s always music in Limoux! ..•*¨`*♫.•

´*.¸.• .¸. ❥❥¸¸.☆¨¯ ♫.¸.¸¸.☆¨¯`❥❥

With the rain, lots of reading and research today. One of my favorite things is unlimited time and be surrounded by books and journals. Divine grace. Learning so much about the deeply layered history of this area, along with Egypt and Spain. I hope to visit a number of the ruins and villages I’m reading about, although getting there is going to be tough without a vehicle; cell phone service is precarious in some of these places too, to be able to fetch a ride from a taxi service, if…big if…they want to drive to the places I need to go for drop-off and pick-up. I’m going to look into some day tours, too.

http://www.enigmatours.com/EnigmaTours-Rennes-Le-Chateau_en.html

And found another site, too, with great visuals and history of the Cathars and Languedoc/Occitanie region.

‘And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’ -F. Scott Fitzgerald

My favorite place to be.

https://www.payscathare.org/en

‘I believe the spiritual realm is so enmeshed with the physical that it is imperceptible. I believe in the mysterious nearness of my ancestors, but I believe they are located at the site of my own blood and bone.’ -Fr Richard Rohr

Oui! Or, as they said in Languedoc before they were overtaken by French kings and the Catholic church, ‘Oc!’ Yes. They had their own language, although not far from some of the French language. The dialect is so different here in this region and most likely the reason NOBODY UNDERSTANDS MY SIMPLEST OF FRENCH WORDS. Pronunciation. It’s mauvais. <sigh> Just wrong. It’s going to take me awhile. There’s a food server here I’ve gotten to know and she’s helping with my French pronunciation. So kind. She has trouble saying my first name. It’s very ‘flat’ sounding, I think…just kinda falls, well, flat. But! When I told her my middle name and try putting both together, it was beautiful! Dayle Ann…only she said it with her French accent and blurred the two names. It was parfait! Perfect. I think my new French name is now DayleAnn. My family once called me that when I was a little girl because I was named after my dad, Dale. So, DayleAnn it is. :)

À bientôt.

❀

“Today’s Supreme Court decision is wrong.”

“With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent.”
-Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan

❧

Progress isn’t always a straight line.
Today’s Supreme Court decision is wrong
but Congress passing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a modest but real step forward. And the fight will go on, thanks to the activists, survivors, and families who continue to demand action.

Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.
-President Barack Obama

♡ ‘Culture of Care’ @AnaMariaforNY

Timeline: America’s Long Civil Rights March
By Nikole Hannah-Jones and Al Shaw, ProPublica

[2013]

Ever since the War of the States, Congress and the Supreme Court have clashed over the question of civil rights. When considering the recent rulings on affirmative action, the Voting Rights Act and the Defense of Marriage Act, it is useful to take the long view of the push and pull between Congress and the Supreme Court when it comes to civil rights. The long arc of history might bend toward justice, but there’s always been a lot of pendulum swinging along the way.

https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/vra

GALLUP

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the U.S. Supreme Court expected to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision before the end of its 2021-2022 term, Americans’ confidence in the court has dropped sharply over the past year and reached a new low in Gallup’s nearly 50-year trend. Twenty-five percent of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court, down from 36% a year ago and five percentage points lower than the previous low recorded in 2014.

Abortion is a fundamental right for all women. It must be protected. I wish to express my solidarity with the women whose liberties are being undermined by the Supreme Court of the United States.

-French President Emmanuel Macron

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Non-violence.

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The Kindness Bonus

Seth Godin

“Please be kind” sounds like a moral imperative. And in some ways, it is.

But behind the theory of the firm and a key building block of successful communities is the idea that kind interactions are significantly more productive.

When people feel seen and respected, they’re more likely to focus on what needs to be done, instead of taking umbrage or being defensive.

When we leave opportunities and pathways for others, they can move forward with less friction.

And when we’re enjoying our days, we’ve created a posture that spreads.

Hockey games aren’t supposed to be kind. But just about everything else works better when we don’t throw elbows.

“CARE is the antidote to violence.”

– Saidiya Hartman

From Jon Meacham’s podcast today, June 24th, 2022

On June 24th, 1990, The Catholic Church discusses excommunicating politicians who disagree with the church on abortion rights.

Important listen for history, and in this moment.

Reflections of History

From former Governor Mario Cuomo in 1984, at Notre Dame:

“I speak here as a politician and also as a Catholic, raised as a Catholic, pre-Vatican II church, educated in Catholic schools, attached to the church first by birth and then by choice, now by love. […] The Catholic church is my spiritual home. My heart is there. And my hope. The Catholic who holds political office in a pluralistic democracy, who was elected to serve Jews and Muslims, atheists, and protestants, as well as Catholics,  bear special responsibility. He or she undertakes to help to create conditions under which all can live with a maximum of dignity and with a reasonable degree of freedom. Where everyone who chooses can hold beliefs different from specifically Catholic ones, sometimes contradictory to them, with laws that protect people’s rights to divorce, use birth control, and even to choose abortion. I protect my right to be a Catholic by preserving your right to believe as a Jew, a protestant, or non-believer, or anything else you choose. I accept the church’s teaching on abortion, must I insist you do, by law?  By denying you Medicaid funding, by a Constitutional amendment? If so, which one? Would that be the best way to avoid abortions, or prevent them? […] We should understand whether abortion is outlawed or not, our work has barely begun. The work of creating a society where the right to life doesn’t end at the moment of birth. Where an infant isn’t helped into a world that doesn’t care if it’s fed properly, housed decently, educated adequately.”

“Search for the means of grace, and the hope of glory.” -Jon Meacham

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/june-24th-catholic-politicians-respond-to-churchs-abortion/id1563421928?i=1000567576889

S A N C T U A R Y

California Governor Gavin Newsom:

Abortion is legal in California.

It will remain that way.

I just signed a bill that makes our state a safe haven for women across the nation.

We will not cooperate with any states that attempt to prosecute women or doctors for receiving or providing reproductive care.

—

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

The news coming out of the United States is horrific. My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion. I can’t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling right now.

—

Signal App post today on twitter: 
@signalapp

Here is your friendly reminder that we built Signal for private, secure communication. It’s built so you can communicate individually and in groups, through text and calls, without fear of interference or data collection. Free to use and not for profit.

#protectwomen ♀

Authentic Attitudes

Advent, which means ‘coming’ in Latin, is typically a season of waiting, listening, and preparing to celebrate the mystery of God with us, Immanuel. It is also a season that challenges our sense of well-BEing. Cultivating a right attitude about the days leading up to the holidays will help us stay true to our authentic self, our true nature as people who have heard the sacred teachings and are walking the path.

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[Image: Rolph Gates]

The practice brings awareness of more than our bodies through the asanas…the postures…it attunes us to our thoughts, which in turn shape our attitudes. In our faith-based yoga practice we cultivate an openness to encounter God, Spirit, Gaia–truth & love–infinitely more fulfilling path of h o p e, p e a c e, and l o v e.

-Cindy Senarighi and Heidi Green

By your stumbling, the world is perfected.

Sri Aurobindo

“When he sees all beings as equals in suffering or in joy because they are like himself, than man has grown perfect in YOGA.”

-Bhagavad Gita

Union.

Release, Reinvent, Kindness

October Forecast 2021
By Lena Stevens
www.thepowerpath.com

OCTOBER FORECAST 2021
Written by Lena Stevens www.thepowerpath.com
Note: if you are reprinting or sharing any part of this forecast please include author and web information/link to comply with copyright law.

The main theme for October is “Release-Reinvent”.

The new story is challenged this month and we get to see what we are made of, where our commitments are, who and what supports us, and whether we are on the right track or not. We get to go through the excruciating process of letting go of old beliefs, wounds, possessions, comfort, illusions, identities, dreams and attachments. We are releasing on a deep level whether we like it or not. This is the month where the new story has to go from an idea to actuality and we get to experience what it will take to manifest it.

This is the birth canal of our new story. It’s dark, uncomfortable, pressurized and scary, but there is no going back. The new story is in the unfamiliar landscape we are birthing ourselves into, highly creative and full of raw potential. If you can get out of the fear and negativity, judgment, blame and disappointment, you will feel highly energized, inspired and excited about what you can reinvent for yourself.

In some ways this is a pivotal month with such a powerful focus on transformation that it is impossible to avoid it. You can ease the discomfort by being proactive and disciplined about how you manage your release and reinvention. Divest yourself of excess, make room and space for something new, change a major habit or attitude that does not serve you, and look at your life creatively to see how much change you can embrace. Not everyone will undergo a physical location, job or relationship change. Some will reinvent themselves internally, allowing for more of their essence to come through, changing their whole outlook and experience of life.

We individually and collectively create crisis to push the edge to stimulate change. This can be very stressful and cause worry and anxiety about the future. Always look at a crisis situation as an opportunity for improvement. The friction in a crisis produces energy and power that can then be channeled into re-inventing and improving life. On the other side of a crisis and breakthrough is always relief, inspiration and sometimes even euphoria.

Once a decision is made about something and followed through with commitment and action, there is energy flowing again. The stagnation and constipation of the holding patterns we have all been in (one way or another), need a bit of a push to free them up. The strongest discomfort you will feel is before the decision, before the commitment and right before the release. This is where you either clear the path for the “new story” to emerge and gain some power, or you put it on a shelf to collect dust.

It takes courage to navigate this month with our eyes open and facing our truth and our tasks head on. Especially those who tend to shy away from discord and disharmony, will have to step up and stand up for themselves when their integrity is being challenged. There will definitely be people who will behave badly, acting out, projecting their fears onto others and posturing around beliefs they are so afraid to let go of. A great deal of compassion is required towards those that are acting out of that much fear. Never take a projection personally and make sure to stay in your own lane and deal with your own release and re-invention without comparing yourself to others or projecting your own discomfort on to others.

There is an opportunity this month to heal the deep discord between the masculine and the feminine but not before the discord escalates in outrage, feelings of injustice and greatly triggered emotional reactions. Remember that this is all leading to a revolution that will eventually end well. Much of the reactions are fear-based and could use some neutral compassion for the collectively created experience we all find ourselves in. The best way to navigate this is to be aware of what needs to change in the collective and then to look inward and see how you can work with your own masculine and feminine balance, making the necessary changes to your story in support of the healing process.

We are all this together. The tension and opposition energy during the first part of the month should be well used to initiate improvement through release, repair, and change. If you remember to come from your heart, stay grounded to the earth, and practice kindness no matter what, you will navigate the challenges in the most positive and productive way.

More from Power Path.

New Moon in Libra is Wednesday, October 6 at 5:05 AM Mountain Daylight Time (MDT).

Be kind no matter what today and be proactive with decisions, direction and your own personal intentions around improvement, self-care and progress. This is a good day for a reset and realignment. Reflect on what has been out of step, out of integrity and out of alignment. Take some action (rather than be in reaction) to readjust. The decisions may have to do with something that needs to be released. If another person is involved, do it kindly and with compassion and don’t take their reactions personally.

Spend a little time in the creative process of reinventing – even if it is only sharing ideas and inspiration with others. Avoid confusion by striving for balance and keeping your eye on your goals. Put energy into what is clear rather than into what is not and practice loads of patience with others that are being challenged. This new moon provides a great opportunity to move forward even if it does not feel like it at the time. Find some humor and do something to de-stress.

Blessings,

Lena

Kindness and Energy for La Luna

3d illustration of the moon and the sun over the ocean-Power Path.

The New Moon in Aries is Sunday, April 11 at 8:30 PM Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)

This moon brings up the physical body, the condition of your health, re-evaluation of the structure of your self-care, and a reflection of what needs to change in your daily organization of life. Be sure to take some time to reflect and evaluate. The dynamic energy of this new moon will give much fuel and ignition to any changes and choices you make for improvement however it can also trigger negative reactions, impatience and irritability as you face uncomfortable truths and challenges. Don’t take your discomfort out on others and remember to be kind no matter what.

Make sure not to make decisions out of fear or being pressured by others. Take your time, check in with your own intuition and what feels right. A new moon always supports personal decisions that must include your own timing, not pressured by others.

There is a part of us during this volatile and dynamic time that wants to see justice around what was done to us and how we have suffered either personally or collectively in the past. There is potential anger and attitude towards righting the wrongs and our personalities would love to see the alleged perpetrators go up in flames. However, the responsible and mature thing to do is to forgive the past, let go of your attachment to suffering and harness this fiery, creative energy to move yourself forward in the most positive way.

powerpath.com

We must speak to it.

MLK

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“A friend of mine told me of a guru from Sri Lanka who asked, ‘What will be the undoing of humanity?’ He answered: ‘The separation between you and me.”

Ahimsa, nonviolence, asks us to abandon the notion of separation.”

-Rolf Gates

When nonviolence in speech, thought, and action is established, one’s aggressive nature is relinquished and others abandon hostility in one’s presence.’ -Yoga Sutras

“Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service; you only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.” -Martin Luther King, Jr

Emerson Collective:

Like snow…

Kindness is like snow. 

It beautifies everything it covers.

-Khalil Gibran

Maitrī

Allysha Lavino/Sacred Mystery

“Kindness is often overlooked – we can sometimes forget how PROFOUND and TRANSFORMATIVE it is.

One of the most profound shifts that we undergo as we awaken, is the shift from being told what qualities we should engage, to truly understanding the beauty and magic they embody. 

AWAKENING means transitioning from teachers’, parents’ and society’s lessons about sharing, being kind, and saying “Thank You” … 

… To the expanded consciousness, where we experience the value in truly living these themes.

KINDNESS BRIDGES THE DIVIDES OF RACE, RELIGION, POLITICS, GENDER, AND ZIP CODES – a bridge that can lead us into a beautiful tomorrow.

Be grateful for the Goodness that we feel when we tap into the energy of loving-kindness.” ​

❀

Finding a little bit of compassion where ever we can.

A Politics of Love.

The humanitarian crisis is in the White House.

DT’s Second Term

Paul Starr

So far, much of the concern about the long-term effects of DT’s presidency has centered on his antidemocratic tendencies. But even if we take those off the table—even if we assume that Trump continues to be hemmed in by other parts of the government and by outside institutions, and that he governs no more effectively than he has until now—the impact of a second term would be more lasting than that of the first.

[…]

Three areas—climate change, the risk of a renewed global arms race, and control of the Supreme Court—illustrate the historic significance of the 2020 election. The first two problems will become much harder to address as time goes on. The third one stands to remake our constitutional democracy and undermine the capacity for future change.

[…]

In short, the biggest difference between electing Trump in 2016 and reelecting DT in 2020 would be irreversibility.

[…]

Democracy is always a gamble, but ordinarily the stakes involve short-term wins and losses. Much more hangs in the balance next year.

[…]

The choice Americans face in 2020 is one we will not get to make again. What remains to be seen is whether voters will grasp the stakes before them. In 2016, Hillary Clinton’s emails absorbed more media and public attention than any other issue. In 2018, DT tried to focus attention on a ragtag caravan of a few thousand Central Americans approaching the southern border. That effort failed, but the master of distraction will be back at it next year. If we cannot focus on what matters, we may sleepwalk into a truly perilous future.

[Full article: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/trump-2020-second-term/585994/]

“Humanity has come to a fork in the road. There is a way marked Love and there is a way marked Fear, each path leading tumor of the same…in our finest hours, America has stood for what humanity at our best aspires to be. We have sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed, but today, in our time, it is ours to decide our path as we move forward. lady Liberty’s torch is in our hands, but only we can determine whether it burns within our hearts.”

-Marianne Williamson, A Politics of Love

Marianne spoke in Las Vegas last night. I recommend beginning at 50:15 for her introduction video. Forward to 1:20:00 for her Q&A to hear the depth of her issues, wisdom, compassion, and her connection with “We the People.” (1:24:00 is beautiful.)

https://livestream.com/accounts/11464019/events/8656602/videos/190529602

“A truth teller, a seeker, a mother, and a learned woman in this scary and strange new world, her voice is at once strong medicine for our roundedness, warmth, insistence, good humor, and a little light to see by.”

-Author Anne Lamott

Author. Lecturer. Activist. Democratic Presidential Candidate.

♡

‘My campaign for the presidency is dedicated to this search, for wisdom of the heart is too often absent from the political sphere.

Together we can reclaim both our democratic principles and the angels of our better selves, expressed not just in our personal lives but on acts of citizenship as well.

Politics should not be a pursuit disconnected from the heart; it should be, as everything should be, an expression of the heart. Where fear has been harnessed for political purposes, let’s now harness the power of love.

It is time to let go of an old and tired political conversation, and forge a new, whole-person, heart-centered political dynamic.’

～

From Marianne on Saturday, April 27th: “We’re under 8,000 left to go! So we’re totally getting there. Please do everything you can to get even the smallest donations to get us onto the DNC debate stage.”

[Only$1-$5 donations needed for a singular/unique donation.]

https://www.marianne2020.com

Kindness

Look up.

‘Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.’

Rainer Maria Rilke

NPR/Morning Edition with David Green and Actor Melissa McCarthy discussing her new film, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

GREENE: Did you learn anything about yourself in this role, in this film?

MCCARTHY: I think, for me, it made me really try to remember more like to look up and see people. Here’s this amazing, ridiculously talented, interesting, difficult, fascinating woman, and most people passed her by on the street. And she was invisible. So I do feel like I look differently as I’m passing people. And I think, what is your story, or what are you amazing at? Like, who loves you? Who do you love? What do you miss? What breaks your heart? I try to like – is – I don’t know if it sounds strange but make more eye contact.

And I do really think that there is an effective – if one person really looks at you in a day, that can change the whole trajectory of your day and then maybe your week. And maybe you look at one other person and connect that you’re humans. And to have someone know they’ve been seen, I think, can do a lot more than I had remembered it can.

More kindness.

‘One of the most painful barriers we can experience is the sense of isolation the modern world fosters, which can only be broken by our willingness to be held, by the quiet courage to allow our vulnerabilities to be seen. For as water fills a hole and as light fills the dark, kindness wraps around what is soft, if what is soft can be seen.

need

ask

help

Prayers without words that friends, strangers, wind, and time all wrap themselves around.’

-Mark Nepo

And magic.

‘Continue to see the world not as it is, but as it could be, if only we believe in courage and kindness and occasionally just a little bit of magic.’

One small correction.

[Illustration from The Little Prince]

“We know, those people who know aeronautics, one small course correction, a minute course correction, over a period of time creates a dramatic change in outcome and destination.

Do something different in you life, no matter how small it is.

The biggest think you do in any day is often often going to be a small act of kindness, decency, or love.”

-Senator Cory Booker/onbeing.org

A prayer for today.

‘Infinite Spirit within me, Gaia, cause me to think and act kindly; constrain my mind to gentleness and peace; guide my thoughts into loving kindness and eternal forgivingness; and cause me in all my ways to follow the path of truth and justice. I judge no person and am judged by none. It is my sincere desire that everything I do or say or think will come into harmony with universal truth and justice. I judge no person and am judged by none. It is my sincere desire that everything I do or say or think will come into harmony with universal truth and peace, with love and joy. Consciously I let go of everything that is unkind and seek to so enter into communion with the Eternal Spirit that I shall reflect to my environment and manifest in all that I do the spirit of kindness, of justice, and of compassion.’

‘Carved by effort and grace.’

Introduction to Walt Whitman’s journal, Specimen Days, by Leslie Jamison:

‘Whitman initially journeyed to the battlefields of the Civil War for personal reasons. After seeing a name he feared was his brother George listed among wartime casualties, in December 1962, he headed to Fredericksburg, where he discovered George had only suffered minor facial lacerations. But this was just the beginning. Whitman started visiting soldiers in hospitals-tens of thousand, all told-and doing what he could: writing letters to families, dressing wounds, bringing treats-rice pudding or blackberry syrup. He once distributed ice cream to all eighteen wards of Carver Hospital.

The goal of a life is to have nothing essential left by the time it leaves its body, the way a flame uses up its wick. This is not sad but as it should be.

-Mark Nepo

♥

Let’s be honest 

which doesn’t mean

being harsh, but gentle.

Let’s be clear

which doesn’t mean being dispassionate, but

holding each other up

in the face of what is true.

Let’s be enduring

which doesn’t mean

being important or famous,

but staying useful like a wheel

worn by rain after years of

carrying each other’s burdens.

-Mark Nepo

♥

Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder.

-Rumi

✿

“In dwelling, be close to the land. 

In meditation, go deep in the heart. 

Compassion in December.

Power Path

This month is all about turning our focus away from anger, blame, self-judgment, hopelessness, frustration, fear and worry. These are all attitudes and emotions that belong to a lower vibration and they do not serve us at this time. We need to be turning ourselves in the direction of the higher vibration of COMPASSION if we are to be effective in our lives, with ourselves and with others.

The definition of COMPASSION is: “Sympathetic consciousness of others’ (or personal) distress together with a desire to alleviate it.”

COMPASSION is a state of being that helps us all remember that we are not separate, that we are all in this great game of life together and that going about it alone is not effective or rewarding.

COMPASSION is best practiced from a neutral state of non-judgment and a perfect follow up from November’s theme of forgiveness. With everything that is going on out there in the world today, the best way to use your time and energy this month is to focus on yourself with COMPASSION for all the ways you have judged, blamed, suffered, and felt powerless and ineffective.

If you truly want to “alleviate the distress” on the planet, you need to start with yourself. All change begins at home. When was the last time you were truly kind to yourself? Not just rewards and gifts, but true kindness?

KINDNESS is another theme this month that goes along with COMPASSION. It is easier to be kind when you have compassion and it is easy to be compassionate when you practice kindness. So they go along hand in hand.

As the big wheel of evolution slowly turns away from the young soul, goal oriented, combative struggle where there are winners and losers, it is the masculine energy in each one of us that needs the most compassion, kindness and healing. We are emerging from a cycle of over 2000 years where the masculine standards of production, success, taking action, winning competitions and doing whatever it takes to get to the top have been our guiding principles.

In this process the masculine in each one of us has taken a beating and needs a lot of kindness and compassion to heal its battle wounds. Many of us have turned away from our own masculine in reaction to the negative aspects we see being played out by the masculine out in the world. The masculine within is suffering and needs compassion and kindness, not judgment and rejection.

Healing the masculine is a theme that begins for us this month and will continue into next year and probably into the next several years.

As you reject the masculine and what it represents, you also reject the positive aspects of generosity, protection, boundaries, action, focus and appropriate will. These positive aspects of the masculine are necessary if we are to be effective in the world. So the work starts at home with yourself in healing your own masculine, your relationship with the masculine and reconnecting with all the positive aspects so you can be whole. If you are whole, it will be easier to be of service where and when needed.

Remember that evolution only goes in one direction and that we are in the process of completing one cycle and transitioning into the next. Our task this month is to hold the bigger picture, to take the higher road of compassion, to practice kindness, and to do what we can to begin the process of healing the masculine beginning with ourselves.

YOU PERSONALLY

This month is all about helping yourself first.  If you don’t have compassion and kindness for yourself, you cannot possibly practice it for others. So start with yourself this month. Review all the ways you have judged yourself for not being good enough, smart enough, known better, ineffective, not successful enough, not strong enough, not brave enough, not powerful enough, not perfect enough, not useful enough, the list goes on and on.

How have you judged yourself for not showing up, for feeing fearful, for missing opportunities, for not getting your life together, for staying in bad situations for too long, for being weak, for being indecisive, for not setting good boundaries, for not protecting yourself or putting yourself first?

This lack of compassion and kindness for yourself will keep you mired in this lower vibration especially if it includes blame, anger and resentment. This is the month to turn all of this around. There is much work to do on the self. It is easy to be distracted with “what is going on out there” in terms of injustice, negative behaviors and bad choices. You cannot do anything about that. You cannot change what is “going on out there” but you can change what is going on in your own home and your own life.

So this is a month to focus on personal change through compassion and kindness and the healing of your own masculine. 

After reviewing all the ways you believe to have let yourself down, focus on the changes you wish to make. You might start with a simple commitment to set better boundaries or to speak up around your own truth or to make a plan of action to improve your life. It is also very important that you practice being in a higher vibration as much as you can. Beauty, wonder, awe, love, and of course compassion and kindness will always lead you to a higher vibration and a higher centered experience. After all this is a higher centered time when we have the opportunity to experience the lowest of the low and the highest of the high. You decide.

RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships with others take a back seat to the relationship you have with yourself. “Me first” is the motto this month. Of course your other relationships will all benefit from the work that you do on yourself. Relationships in general have been challenged lately and fraught with a lot of projection, blame and confusion. Larger scale issues are being worked out and relationships are taking the hit.

It is important to remember that there is so much work going on now at a personal level that everyone needs a bit of space. Especially as we enter into the agreed upon social holiday time, don’t be afraid to say no and to limit your social interactions if you are needing time to yourself.

Treat all your relationships with compassion and kindness.  This month kindness will go a long way to keep relationships from unnecessarily imploding. Give people room to grow, to change, to heal, to express their truth and to be creative in their own way. There is a lot of energy right now for change and it will be affecting some relationships. Stay out of fear and judgment and allow change if that is where the wind is blowing.

HEALTH AND THE PHYSICAL BODY

Compassion and Kindness, Compassion and Kindness, Compassion and Kindness. Our bodies have been through a lot and carried much for us. Mostly this month the body needs rest and rejuvenation. We don’t even know how exhausted we are. There has been so much work in the dreamtime collectively as our conscious personalities and bodies are “asleep”, that we don’t feel rested. We have been psychologically and psychically hypervigilant, holding a very big container for positive change and evolution and we are afraid to put it down. It is time to take a break and let what has been put into motion play itself out. The path is clear ahead of us and it is all about the personal healing we need to do on ourselves.

Health challenges this month could include fluctuations in energy levels with periods of great fatigue mixed with sleeplessness, physical agitation and restlessness. Knee and joint issues from the waist down are working out our masculine traits of moving forward and energetic mobility. Intermittent nausea and digestive issues are related to our will and the masculine energy of how we choose to show up in the world.

Take care of yourselves this month. You only have one body this lifetime and it deserves your kindness, compassion and love.

ENVIRONMENT

Being a very personally focused month, your personal environment is the most important thing on your “to do” list. You will experience a sense of power and accomplishment and purpose in changing or improving or fixing what is in your power to do. You cannot change what someone “out there” does or decides. But you can make changes and good choices and improvements to your own space and environment. When was the last time you took control of your personal environment, cleaned out the clutter and improved something that needing to be fixed?

Pace yourself this month both in your expectations as well as your physical output of energy in all the doing and fixing and changing you are inspired to do. Allow yourself to be guided by the environment you are in. If it is snowing outside, stay warm indoors if that is what your body wants. If it is sunny and warm, go out for a walk. If it is rainy or windy, honor the environment in the ways that it can support your own process of change, cleansing, or letting go of something. Practice working intimately with the environment instead of against it. This goes for all aspects of “environment”: physical, emotional, political, psychological, intellectual, global, personal and collective.

We are still in a highly creative period of time and although the creativity may seem to be very underground and hidden at this time, it may come out in the environment as weather anomalies, unexpected events, extreme temperatures and wild weather systems. Enjoy it!

BUSINESS/PARTNERSHIPS/PROJECTS

This is a good month to focus on the foundations of your business and projects. What was the inspiration behind your ideas, choices and action? Is there anything that needs to be revisited or changed or refined? Take and inventory of everything that is working and serving you best as well as what is not serving or needs to be changed or eliminated. This is about acknowledging what YOU need and how your personal business, partnerships and projects will serve YOU first.  Is your life task being supported?

As you inventory be careful not to judge or blame and remember that compassion and kindness goes a long way to healing what may not have been addressed that needs some clearing. It is a good month to tell the truth to others about what it truly important to you, and to tell the truth to yourself about what is not important to you that may be important to others.

There is great support for working on details, sealing up energy leaks and setting good boundaries. There is a fine line between functional community involvement on a project, and a dysfunctional free for all with no boundaries. I am reminded of the various experiments of the late 60’s with the communes, free love, and the break-down of social and economic boundaries. We are in a similar time but with hopefully more maturity and spiritual consciousness. These are indeed interesting times and it should be inspiring to all of us to think about the possibilities of what we can collectively create for our future.

December 1-7: It is a week of self-focus and taking care of the body, mind and spirit. The best use of this time is to keep your eye on the small goals you can easily accomplish as well as to practice being on that higher road of compassion whenever possible. Whether you are in the grocery store becoming irritated at the incompetency of the cashier or the confusion of the person in line in front of you, or witnessing an argument or inappropriate aggression among others, stay in the field of kindness and compassion. No one WANTS to be like that. But many are lost. If you can practice being in a higher state and a higher center, it will have a ripple effect.

Another good practice during this week is the “inner smile”.  If you heart can smile and you can radiate that smile outward, that is the inner smile. It is effective, can bring you joy and possibly even a desire to smile outwardly. And it will certainly support a higher vibration and a higher centered state.

December 8-15: This could be a week of confusion, depression, energetic ups and downs, one day feeling hopeful and good about your practices and the next day in despair about all the things you cannot change. The only way past these challenges is through. The only way to navigate is to acknowledge the feelings and then do your practices of compassion, kindness and taking care of yourself anyway despite how unmotivated you feel.

Keep your tasks small and doable. Set boundaries when appropriate and protect yourself from the conjectures, projections and negativity of others. This is a good week for one on one interactions that are meaningful and to make plans and set intentions about how you want to feel in your life in the future.

Even though the month is very much about you personally and much of the energy is focused within, there are times that support community. The powerful time around the Full Moon moves us into a more expansive picture of sharing our vision and prayers with others on the same page and compassion and kindness are the magnetic force that will bring people together for a common cause.

Don’t underestimate the power of prayer.

Spend some time today being inspired by your own life. Forget about what others are doing for a moment and focus on what you are doing and what you wish to do.  Are you true to yourself, your spiritual and moral compass, and your true desires? If not, why not?

Acknowledge all experiences as useful even if uncomfortable. For things happening in your life that are less than “great”, adopt the following attitude: “Do I like it? No. Does it feel good? Not really. Is it necessary? Probably.”

And most of all, have gratitude for all of it. After all, it is a great ride.

December 16-22: This is a time frame to work on relationship. Relationship with your body, with yourself, with your masculine, with your right work, your right action, with your unique personality and with your personal environment. Have you had enough gratitude for yourself and your life lately?

Stay close to home and pay attention to the details that may come up during this time that require your attention especially in the area of your personal environment. This is the time that supports fixing, changing, refining and improving what you can and have the power to do. Instead of worrying about what you can’t change, focus on what you can.

Mercury goes retrograde on the 19th to support even more focus on detail and clear communication. Set good boundaries around your time and energy and work on eradicating the habitual energy leaks that tend to surface around perceived obligations at this time of year.

December 21: Winter Solstice is Wednesday, December 21 at 3:44 AM. Solstice time is always a good reset and transition time. We move from the darkest time of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) to the first day of bringing back the light. Especially this year, the significance of bringing in more light is palpable.

Honor this solstice by anchoring something you are transitioning into. It could be a new relationship, project, practice, or way of thinking. There is much that remains the same as we enter into a new cycle but what can change is the foundational patterns underlying all the judgments of the past. The way we see and perceive the world can be radically different if we allow it to be. This is the bigger picture that wants to seduce us to be more inspired, more creative and more hopeful. It is all possible.

December 23-31: The focus of this time is on clarity. Clarity of truth, clarity of what brings you joy, clarity of your direction, clarity of what needs to be complete and what needs your attention. This is a good time of year to make an inventory of anything that just does not feel right and decide what you are going to do about it. Watch for health issues around joints and bones during this time as the main “structures” supporting your body.

Part of your inventory should include an assessment of all the structures in your life and whether they are supporting you in ways that serve you or not. Structures are also containers and you might find that some have leaks, some are too small and some don’t hold together because they are just not meant to be. The categories are anything from relationships to work to study to personal environment to new projects, old projects, health support, where you get your knowledge and information and who you go to for any kind of support. When you find something lacking, instead of getting upset or self-judging about it, practice the compassion of the month and be kind to yourself and to others that you perceive to have “let you down”.