Archive
You Are Not Your Stories – Richard’s Commentary
Here’s the core of Rosemary’s Exploration posted yesterday:
It is so easy to ‘story ourselves’ into our victimhood and we hide behind our stories until it becomes difficult to find the real person behind the mask of story.
I love this little phrase: “story ourselves into victimhood.” And sometimes the stories are not even our own, but our parents’ stories or even multi-generational stories passed along through time.
An example of this is my parents’ stories from the era of the Great Depression. My Dad had to quit school after the 8th grade to go to work to help support the family. My Mom tells of a Christmas when she got an orange in her stocking as her only gift! Those times were tough, no doubt! And, for Mom they created a deep sense of insecurity around money and a sense of fear around not having enough. Yet, growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm we always had enough.
My mother’s sense of “lack” has been passed along in my unconscious mind and I continue to work with this story. I have always had enough – enough to eat, comfortable shelter, great jobs, a fabulous family – everything a guy could ever want. But there is a little voice in the back of my mind that still says things like: “we can’t afford that”, or “maybe someday when…”
As I look back I have been blessed, taken care of, never experiencing the “poverty” my mother spoke of and carried forward in her stories. But a small piece of her story is alive in me. I am not that story and I work on moving it out of my life, catching myself in the feeling of lack, remembering I am not lacking in anything and sensing a deep trust that I will always be taken care of.
Rosemary adds: The only reason to tell a story is to show how you’ve grown beyond it so that you can help someone else experience the same growth. I can safely tell my “money story” because I have grown beyond it. And I continue to grow beyond it!
We are in California now visiting our newest grandson, Tristan. A few days before leaving I checked our financial accounts and mentioned to Rosemary we would have to be mindful of the budget on the trip. Within two days she booked a client for a year-long program, paid in full! Trust is always preferable to any sense of lack! The reminders just keep coming.
It’s OK to remember the stories, just don’t get stuck in them. Remember the lessons and move on.
And enjoy the New Moon, Wednesday, 2:14 am EDT.
MONDAY’S POEM: Old Grandmother
The Moon is old; can you feel it? Go inside and get in touch with her, with your own feelings. Experience her. I wrote today’s poem just a day or two ago as we are approaching the new Moon (Wednesday, September 24 at 2:14 AM EDT); approaching the new Moon means experiencing the old Moon. Also we are just moving into equinox which means we are moving into the Sun sign of Libra – balance in light and dark, balance in Libra. Find your balance.
Old Grandmother
Grandmother Moon
is whispering, sinking
fast into Sun’s arms!
Let go.
Release negativity.
Forgive.
Allow others
their space and lessons.
Let their lessons reflect
back to your own.
Find patience.
Breathe into the space
of expanding light.
Add gratitude.
Fill the releasing heart
with thanksgiving.
Embrace beauty.
It is all beautiful;
Sun and Moon together!
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
FRIDAY’S POEM FROM “RHYTHMS AND CYCLES” – The Chamber of Time
One of my favorite teachers, Martín Prechtel, is a master of languages, among many things. He teaches that the Tzutujil Mayan language has no verb form of “to be.” This makes it very interesting to speak of the past or future; in fact the Mayan peoples don’t seem to mind this “missing” grammatical component and are quite happy living in the present! Would Western civilization be a bit more content if we stopped using “to be.”
Imagine the possibilities!
With this in mind I riffed off one of Martín’s teachings about living in the middle of time for today’s poem:
The Chamber of Time
What if reality is nothing more
than a huge echo chamber?
Time in this reality is nothing more
than an echo returning.
The Holy, Goddesses, Gods
are nothing more than our
reflection in this chamber.
And we, nothing more than theirs.
To be sure the rhythms, ebb
and flow, dynamic play of
Light and Shadow in this
Hologram are a multidimensional mix.
The chaotic complexity settles
into karmic patterns, polyphonic,
kaleidoscopic interplay of
a multivalence array, to be sure.
And the echoes, like the breath of the
Holy, like our own rhythms,
beats, breaths, reverberate
Through this panoply of reality in time.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Exploring the Field of All Possibilities – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s exploration this week is a great lead-in to her Possibilities Playshop scheduled for this Saturday. It is not only the Playshop but the Playbook, the product of the Playshop, that is an amazing tool to help with “exploring the field of all possibilities.” Let me explain:
During Rosemary’s Playshop we play at several activities designed specifically to get us out of our heads, out of the problem space, so we can move into the field of possibilities where solutions lie. And one of the first steps is to clear the way to get there, clear the limiting beliefs that tend to hold us in “tunnel vision.”
Here’s how Rosemary describes the “problem”:
This is the way that we can hold ourselves back from showing our greatness to the world. Tunnel vision is the very block that prevents us from seeing the possibilities that are in front of us because our focus is so narrowed. And we feel as if there is no roadmap out of our situation.
We do this clearing, opening up beyond the tunnel vision, through visualizations. This is necessary to begin to believe that there may actually BE a “roadmap” to the field.
Once we clear the old beliefs, a process to re-vision the problems and re-create a new vision forward, we are then in a great space to create the roadmap. And this is no ordinary roadmap, but one created and guided by our intuition. This is where the “play” begins in earnest.
Briefly, we pull pictures and words from old magazines, images and phrases that appeal to us. We do this fast without much thought about why they appeal. This is somewhat similar to creating vision boards (have you ever done one of those?) but with less intention, suspending the rational left-brain activity and relying on our child-like unconscious minds to direct the play.
Pictures are put in an envelope, words in another; pictures can even be sorted by size and put in different envelopes. Then the “roadmap” or Playbook is created by pulling pictures and words blindly from the envelopes for each of the months going forward. We actually align our calendars with the phases of the moon to bring an even deeper intuitive, feminine connection to the Playbook.
The resulting Playbook is an intuitively created “solution space” to use as a guide for the months/year ahead. The pictures and words can be interpreted as the moon cycles through her phases. I frequently consult my Playbook for a number of reasons, including when I am stuck or catch myself in tunnel vision.
I use my Playbook as a journal to record events. It is always curious to review the pictures and words I chose months ago to see how they inform my current situation. I also record my I Ching Gua that I cast at each new moon; there is always an alignment with the reading and my Playbook entries for that moon!
The point here is not to “sell” you on the power of Rosemary’s Possibilities Playshop event but to suggest there are tools you can use to move easily, even with a lot of fun, from tunnel vision around a problem to a new vision of expanded possibilities where solutions live. Inner work, access to our intuitive powers, even play serves to offer a way forward!
And remember, problems are lessons waiting to be learned in the field of all possibilities!
MONDAY’S POEM: Breaking Free
The theme of the week is “possibilities.” This is the week of Rosemary’s Possibilities Playshop scheduled for Saturday, September 20, 2014. To pursue possibilities requires change. Change requires breaks. I wrote today’s poem almost 5 years ago but it seems to pertain well to the theme of the week!
Breaking Free
Who of us knows
how to break free
with grace, with ease,
with a light heart?
Break; the very word
has a jolt to it.
There’s a stopping to brake,
but an ending to break.
Yet, there’s an essential
to breaking which can’t
be ignored. Without it
there is nothing new, nothing free.
Every movement requires a break.
Every freedom requires an ending.
There is a grace to the slow dance
And a leap of heart in the advance.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: If you are in the Annapolis, Maryland area join us for the Possibilities Playshop!
FRIDAY’S POEM FROM “RHYTHMS AND CYCLES” – The Future is Now
Today’s poem is a reprise from a few months ago. It comes to mind as we look toward Rosemary’s Possibilities Playshop next week. In this event we use our intuitive skills to “plan forward” toward our “bodacious wish” for the future. How does the future and all our planning (we in the west or so good about planning!) relate to the practice of being present, living now? This poem gets at that cycle and enigma of time.
The Future is Now
If the future is now
Dreams are now.
This is Dream Time.
And is the past now?
Forgiveness is now.
This is the lesson.
Now is only now,
Past time, Dream Time,
All one now.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: If you are in the vicinity of Annapolis, Maryland, check out the Playshop opportunity: Here’s the Link
5 Steps to the First Step – Richard’s Commentary
You know that old expression – “watch that first step; it’s a doozy”? Well, Rosemary assures us not to worry too much about it because that step can be divided up into five! And I know how well this works.
A few years ago, we were still in Colorado, when Rosemary offered a weekend seminar in her program, The Intuition Edge. Across two days of a workshop setting (more like a playshop!) we learned her system to determine that next, first step. It included these five lead-up steps Rosemary outlined in her post which I reposted here yesterday. As a quick reference here they are again:
- Breathe
- Connect to Your Vision
- Clear the Blocks
- Commit to Forward Motion
- Connect with Your Intuition, Your Inner Guidance and Ask for the First Step to be Unveiled to You
As you might guess I really like that first step. I do a lot of breathing; it’s part of my Qigong practice, my Yoga practice, my meditation practice. When awareness needs centering, breathing is the best approach.
It is the breath that helps us connect with anything, and everything. It is essential to connect within. And where does that vision of where we want to go next reside? Within!
How do you “see” your vision? I think we in the west call this direction we are headed a “vision” because we are such a visual culture. But can you sense your vision in other ways? Can you taste it, smell it, hear it, touch it? If you truly want to activate your vision apply all of your senses; begin to experience the vision in your whole body, as if it is real. It is real!
What blocks stand between you and your vision? Do you fear attaining that vision? Do you hesitate because you are unsure if it is the “right” vision? Are you confident you have the resources needed? There are many ways we sabotage ourselves. This may be the most important and the most difficult step of the five. Do the inner work here, whether it’s to dispel limiting beliefs, move through inner-child fears or gain trust in yourself and the Universe.
Commitment is a requirement. If you are not truly committed to your vision then no “first step” will appear. If the commitment is weak, go back to step 2 and connect or re-connect to that vision. This is a process. It is likely not a linear one but circular; view it as a spiral as you get closer and clearer about your vision.
When you are committed go for the guidance. Once again this is inner guidance and once again we get there, seek it through the breath. See why I like this process so much? We get to breathe!
And then there are many tools to use to stimulate and listen to the inner guidance, that intuitive side of our consciousness, our intuition edge. Use as many as you need and are comfortable with. Use divination tools like a pendulum, oracle cards, Tarot cards, astrology, numerology. Test your vision using these tools and ask for the next step toward that vision. Remember, you only need the NEXT step.
Then TAKE it…”step out in innocence and trust.”
MONDAY’S POEM: The Moon Grows Swiftly
There’s a full moon tonight, 9:38 East Coast time. Have you ever watched the moon rise in the east as the sun sets in the west? It’s a lovely dance and inspired today’s poem. Enjoy!
The Moon Grows Swiftly
The Moon grows swiftly now,
Swelling to fullness in the next moments.
Her laughing face puffs to the edges
As Sun peaks over the horizon to see
We get the joke.
In her relief she feels no shame,
But jumps up to live her glory.
She gazes whole-heartedly toward
Her husband who sinks quickly out of sight,
Avoiding her glee.
And we are caught up in the juggling act,
Between these mighty space beings;
The wife standing at one end of the world,
Rising sharply; the husband sheepish
In his disappearance.
Sky of blue hues and brilliant reds and golds
Fades and darkens to blackness.
And the yellow Mother shifts her happy face
Through shades of cream to milky-white,
To steady, more serious light.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
FRIDAY’S POEM FROM “RHYTHMS AND CYCLES” – Light and Dark
I love this time of year; fall is my favorite season. For me the season actually begins with Lammas, that special cross-quarter day in early August when the harvest begins (and it is my birthday!). Now as we move deeper into September and toward the Autumnal Equinox the light begins to play tricks with our eyes. It’s as if the ripe crops of gold are reflected in the light itself, that golden quality that speaks of rest and peace.
This week’s blogs have been about the light, we humans as “the Light of the World.” But let’s not forget Father Sun, Grandmother Moon and all the Celestial Lights to show us the way!
Light and Dark
The Moon waxes to fullness and light.
The days wane to deeper darkness.
The lush green begins to dry and fade.
The shade of Sun’s shine turns gold.
Shadows shrink with the rising Sun.
At noon, high light, they disappear.
With the onset of evening they grow
Long again blending with the dark of night.
Moods wax and wane with cycles and seasons.
Blood ebbs and flows with the pulsingThree Lights.
Choices are many, path forks lie ahead.
Seek light to illuminate those less shadowed.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Be Your Brightest Self! – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s article and post this week continues this conversation about “being the light.” I have heard her and the multiple “sources” she channels say many times “you are the light of the world.” This is an easy phrase. Many of us have heard it most of our lives as quotes from the New Testament of Christian Bibles. Jesus frequently said this about both himself and his followers.
But when that simple phrase is closely considered it is not necessarily the easiest concept to embrace! In particular here is one challenge Rosemary throws out:
And when you are having a bad day, do you seek the light within yourself or do you try to pull others into your bad mood to commiserate with you?
OK, I don’t think I try to pull others into my bad moods. But I do have them. And when I am in a mood that is not necessarily of the lightest variety, do I seek the light within? Not always! Do you know what I mean? Are there moods you experience that are dark but you want to stay there, to feel them, to wallow for just a bit? There’s a soothing quality to these moods sometimes.
But consider others around you. I have to pull this notion toward me first when I am in one of my moods. Now that I’m retired I “work” at home. And, yes, it is actual work to keep two businesses going. The point is I am home, with Rosemary, a lot. We do have a big enough house to spread out and go to separate rooms. However we are frequently and often together; our moods rub against each other. It is much easier and more pleasant to reach for the light, even when I am in the darkest of moods – it’s only fair!
How do I do this? As I’ve written many times I have lots of practices to move my moods around: body practices include Yoga and Qigong and I do one or both almost daily. My mental practices include reading, research and my “morning pages.” My “pages” are the quickest way to shift my mood. I enjoy writing anyway; to write about my moods is a sure way to dig in to them, sift through them and finally shift them. Some of my page writing begins quite negatively. But by the end of the third page they always end on high notes! I don’t even know how this works, but it is true. It’s a wonderful practice, for me, and the reason I’ve been doing it for years now.
My spiritual practices include several forms of meditation. But it is difficult, for me, to meditate when I am in a mood. The mood needs to be shifted first. I need to “seek the light within” first and be in that space of light in order to still my mind. But there is one Koan meditation practice that does work; I’ve written about it here before. It is to simply ask the question “what is this?” when the mood insinuates itself enough to be recognized as “a mood.” The question is answered and then repeated several times until the root cause is revealed. It works. You might wonder at first if this is more like a mental practice, but as the questioning and answers move deeper the process does become meditative.
You may ask “why go through all this; moods change eventually.” Hopefully for most of us this is true enough. But here’s what Rosemary says about the “why”:
Your purpose on Planet Earth is to be your own Sun, to shine your light. Those around you are looking to you to shine. They need the light of your love and warmth as much as they need the Sun’s. Who are you to withhold that light from them?
It starts inside. We need ourselves to be lights for ourselves! And this radiates out to those closest to us. And it continues to radiate out to the neighborhood, the community, everyone we encounter from store clerks to friends, from family to strangers (friends we just haven’t met yet). Imagine if we all knew this purpose and became “suns” for everyone else on the planet!
For one thing we’d all have shining eyes – and that would be something to smile about!
Men and The Goddess 