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A FRIDAY POEM FROM “RHYTHMS AND CYCLES” – Will We Survive?
In Rosemary’s”Exploration” this week she speaks of change and evolution – a frequent theme for both of us. As we move deeper into spring, the season of growth, change, we approach the Grand Cross that has the astrologers buzzing. Everyone is talking about change. Will it bring growth or will it bring destruction? The choice, as always, is ours!
Will We Survive?
The great wheel turns
Through the black cosmos
Always returning to the
Beginning,
Surviving another ending.
The cycles repeat
Monotonously consistent;
Yet each repetition
Carries change,
Signaling adjustment.
We return again
To a place of origin;
One more karmic turn,
Wondering.
Have we changed enough?
Will we survive?
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Cycling – Richard’s Commentary
I find it interesting when Rosemary’s “explorations” line up nicely with mine. It was just a couple of weeks ago that I started publishing a “Friday Poem” from my collection I call “Rhythms and Cycles.” And here’s Rosemary’s post on “Cycling”!
But these aren’t really cycles, are they? In fact Rosemary’s second sentence in her post clarifies her meaning:
Life is a spiraling experience and, when we try to make it linear, going out in front of us in a straight line and looking behind us as if everything happened in a straight line, we diminish the importance of the cycles that we have experienced.
“Life is a spiraling experience.” There is a vector to all of this; it may not be linear but it is clearly going somewhere! At least I think it is despite some of the ridiculous efforts to spiral us backwards!
Rosemary and I took in the Annapolis Film Festival this past weekend. We saw several very fine films and very much enjoyed immersing ourselves in the film industry for a few days. One of the splendid films we saw was “Particle Fever”, a documentary about the building of and science behind the Large Hadron Collider, the largest machine and experiment ever built. Speaking of cycles this machine can whirl protons at one another around a 17-mile circular tunnel at speeds approaching that of light! It’s an amazing accomplishment that the Collider is revealing structures of matter as it existed just after the Big Bang. Watching the film I got a real sense of innovation, progress, discovery and jubilation as humans push through the boundaries of knowledge.
Cycling, spiraling through time to know. Isn’t this what we are here for?
And yet, there are those who want to end science, deny the truths we discover, debate facts with lies when it suits their political goals and supports their financial backers. It is with this in mind, the contrast between those who are spending their lives in the search for truth and those who deny the very benefit of science and our discoveries, that I wrote the following as it pertains to cycles:
Time flows on and everyone floats toward another milestone, whether it’s another birthday, another accomplishment on some schedule, another dream, either achieved or let go. Every moment is a milestone, every breath another passage. And we all flow together in these momentous passages, not just of time and the markers we use, but in consciousness as we develop, in spite of ourselves, the next layers of awareness, micron by micron.
This is the reality, even for the doubters and the protestors. Whether “they” (we) believe in progress or not, whether we believe in science or not, whether we choose to remain in darkness or awaken to the dawning light of ever evolving realization, the inexorable march of time, the entropy of the Universe, the unstoppable building will continue! It cannot be legislated against, it cannot be denied by the most eloquent and articulate oration, it cannot be hidden, no matter how tightly we close our eyes, and minds, to it. The conscious mind is driven. There is a compulsion about this drive for knowledge and expanded consciousness that seems to be built in to our framework, the architecture. The human mind is wired to seek, to understand, to challenge the common and create the new, that next layer of understanding. Let the naysayers bray as loudly as they will. They will continue to make asses of themselves. Their noise will be temporary just as the latest theories, scientific or otherwise, are temporary way-points along the long non-ending journey toward Truth.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Cycling
We sometimes forget that we are constantly within a cycle within another cycle within yet another one. Life is a spiraling experience and, when we try to make it linear, going out in front of us in a straight line and looking behind us as if everything happened in a straight line, we diminish the importance of the cycles that we have experienced.
Think about the seasons of every year of your life. How many Springs, Summers, Autumns, Winters have you lived through? Each season of the calendar year brings a different energy, a different feeling to your life that year.
In Spring, life around us starts to blossom and grow. There is a newness, a freshness, to the garden and the birds and the amount of Sun’s light that we receive. The trees start to spread leaves for us. Everything is in ‘growth mode.’ We, too, are invited to grow, to reach for the sky, to blossom, to try something new in the Springtime.
By Summer, the Sun is at it’s peak and the crops are producing bounty for us to receive. The seeds you planted in your life in Spring are coming to fruition and you can watch your efforts grow.
Autumn brings the harvest, a time to reap what you have sown. Prepare for winter. Finish up projects. Gather what you need and bring it inside.
Winter brings, not only colder weather, but also a time to hibernate, not slumbering deeply like the bears, but going inside, doing the inner work, contemplating, planning, examining life.
And then comes another Spring! Rebirth, revitalization, resurrection, coming alive again!
And so the cycle begins again. But this time you have learned more, grown more, shaped your life so that you are seeing from a new perspective, a little bit greater in consciousness and understanding than last year’s.
There are many other cycles in your life. Infant/Child/Teenager/Adult/Senior. Neophyte/Apprentice/Master.
You might think that each of these represents a linear progression, a straight line through the stages, but you can be an Adult in one setting and a Child in another. [Have you ever seen a grown man go home and become like the little boy he was growing up?] You can Master one thing and be a neophyte in another.
The Moon Cycles affect us greatly because we are mostly water and, just as the Moon affects the tides of Earth’s bodies of waters, so the waters in us are affected. Do you pay attention to where the Moon is in her cycle? Did you know that the New Moon is a great time to begin something new, to invite new things/ideas/projects/partners into your life? And the Full Moon is a time of releasing, of letting go of that which no longer serves you.
When you are conscious of cycles like these in your life, you can work with the energies of the cycles to support and assist you as you grow.
What other cycles in your life can you think of? What would change if you became conscious of those cycles and planned how to use that energy instead of allowing yourself to be affected unconsciously?
If you live by the water you know that the tides will respond to the Moon, whether you are conscious or not! Decide today to live a Conscious Life and pay attention to the cycles you experience!
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Pay Attention to Cycles!
My “Two-Minute” Video for this Week: Pay Attention to Cycles!
New Moon in Aries I Ching Divination
As I have been doing over the past few years I have cast an I Ching Gua – a six-line hexagram consisting of open, yin, lines and solid, yang, lines. I was particularly motivated to cast this gua to see where the Aries energies coming in with the spring equinox were going to lead, especially with the last gua for the Pisces New Moon which was all about “Keeping Still.” (Pisces New Moon Gua)
I was not disappointed and did cast an interesting hexagram. I’ve pictured it here on the right. It has two changing lines at the third position and the top; these two 9 lines are changing lines which means the solid line of 9 (odd numbered lines are yang lines and even numbered lines are yin lines) can change to 6 lines or yin lines. Master Alfred Huang, whose text, The Complete I Ching, I use, suggests consulting the lower of the two changing lines. This yields the “approached” gua, a new gua representing the movement of the energies through the month.
So, what does all this mean? The “initial” gua is named Gu which means “Remedying.” Master Huang equates this with “making a fresh start.” This is a great way to break out of the energy of “keeping still” from last month. This feels in right; it is time to begin, maybe even over again. We are two months into the Lunar New Year. For the year the gua I cast was “advance.” (New Year Gua) We got the year off to a fast paced start. A month later the gua advised to “keep still” – in other words pause, reflect, consider. Now here we are in Aries energy, spring is here and it’s time for a “fresh start.”
But there is a cautionary note in this gua, because the third line changes to a yin line. The interpretation here is to take small steps forward and not be overly impetuous. Aries energy can be fiery and highly energetic. This “new beginning” needs to be a thoughtful one.
King Wen’s decision for this gua advises “Before starting, three days. After starting, three days.” This is part of the cautionary emphasis in this gua; I believe care needs to be taken during this first week, up to the first quarter of the moon cycle.
The approached qua is Meng or “Childhood” pictured here with the changed line in place. The two trigrams (three-line diagrams) are Kan or Stream on the bottom and Gen or Mountain on top. The image here is of a spring flowing out from the base of a mountain. There is a freshness, a newness about this image. It is like the innocence of childhood; Master Huang uses the image of “uncarved jade” to describe the sense of this gua. The interpretation here is to carefully mold the child through an education process to bring out the original wisdom hidden in the child. This is a slow and deliberate process; again impetuosity needs to be tempered with deliberation.
In summary we move this month through the energy of a “fresh start” and cautious, studied steps forward. Study, do some research and act thoughtfully.
My astrologer friend, Gloria Hesseloff, offers this advice for the month: I particularly align with the idea that this is a time of preparation for a new beginning. This seems to echo the I Ching preacisely!
CONVERSATIONS THAT HEAL: Rosemary speaks about Angels, Guides, Spirit Guides
Angels, Guides, Spirit Guides – how do they interact with us and how can they help us to heal?
Listen to this Conversations That Heal Radio Show where Rosemary is interviewed by Susan Jacobi and learn the answers to these questions! It’s 30-minutes of information that reveals the unseen helpers in our lives.
What’s Your Commitment Level? – Richard’s Commentary
Life Purpose; Commitment; the Universe is waiting. And:
I can assure you that no one’s Life Purpose is to play small in the world. Remember that there are a lot of other souls waiting for you to show up to play your part.
This is heavy stuff; a challenge! Am I ready? Am I already living my purpose? How can I know, for sure?
A number of years ago I did a values assessment exercise. I listed out my top five or so values, the usual. And I wrote my “morning pages” on each value across several days. I worked hard on this. Then I reflected on these values and I began to reduce them, to simplify them into a formula I could easily follow. The result is pretty simple:
Practice———>Love
A bit of time after I worked through this exercise, I learned about Scientific Hand Analysis. This approach, to determine things about ourselves from our finger and hand-prints is both fun and pretty amazing. Turns out my fingerprints are all of one kind, loops. And the simple meaning of this is my Life Purpose is Love! I also happen to be in the School of Love and my Lessons revolve around Love.
Now, this too seems pretty simple! (Believe me it’s not!). And it certainly aligns with my values nicely! But here’s the thing: that first word in my “simple” values statement is Practice! Oh, yeah. I’ve got to practice this! Every day, in every way.
And, following Rosemary’s reminder, I have to commit to this 100%. There’s no playing small here. There is no end either; no limits, no boundaries. No perfection!
But then just a day or so ago a poem came to me in an interesting context: on Sunday I had taken a day off, completely off, no practice, no schedule, no thinking, a real day of rest. Then as I reflected on this day off, I came back to my purpose, my values:
Practice———>Love
Values:
Two words,
A gesture.
A flow:
No striving
No stress
No cramming
No rush
No push
No list
No deadlines
No wish
No angst
No want
No grief
No fear
No anger
Only breath!
Rhythm
In time
With All.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: What’s Your Commitment Level?
When you decided to incarnate into the Earth Plane you agreed that you would have a Purpose for this lifetime, a reason you were being born, a mission to complete. You met with your Soul Group, those other spirits who have been traveling with you lifetime after lifetime. You all agreed on the roles you would play in each other’s lives this time.
Even if you believe that you only have one lifetime, this is true.
So now you are in the middle of your life. Have you asked yourself if you are living your Purpose yet? Are you totally committed to doing so?
There is no reason to be afraid of living your Purpose but a lot of people are. They think it’s too big a role to play, or that they haven’t gotten the message straight about what they are to do. Some feel as if life has been a bit difficult and they are just trying to get through it.
Here are two truths that I can share with you:
1] You have a Purpose for your life! There is a reason you are here. Thank you for showing up for the rest of us.
2] The Universe is set up and waiting to support you in fulfilling that Purpose. Everything you need will be available to you when you need it.
The only question left is ‘How committed are you to fulfilling that Purpose?’
A half-hearted commitment will not get that done. You have 100% of you to give to your Purpose because it is not about DOing – it is about BEing the person you were born to BE.
When you make the decision to be wholly committee to BEing your Purpose, there is a relaxation that occurs, a sense that you can let down your guard and relax into being what your Soul has always known you are. It feels like a ‘coming home’ moment.
Are you ready to make that commitment?
Once you say ‘yes’ there are next steps.
Do you know what your Life Purpose is? Are you confident that you are on the track to fulfillment? Your Purpose is something that resonates at a very deep level inside you because it has been with you since before you were born. You will recognize it when you bring it forward into conscious awareness. It will feel RIGHT.
I have had clients start to cry with the resonance of hearing me say to them the words that describe their Life Purpose. They KNOW, inside, and may have been struggling to bring their life into alignment with that Purpose, or may have relationships that are not supportive of their pursuing that Purpose. But they know who they are here to be.
Have you had that moment yet in your life? Are you certain that you have identified your Life Purpose? If so, are you living it fully or is there something holding you back?
I can assure you that no one’s Life Purpose is to play small in the world. Remember that there are a lot of other souls waiting for you to show up to play your part.
The most important thing you can do is to COMMIT, wholeheartedly, to living your Purpose NOW. No matter how big it seems, or how afraid you feel, or what others are saying, this is the moment. Make the commitment.
And when your commitment is at 100%, watch the magic happen as everything you need becomes available to you.
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Be Who You Are!
Rosemary’s “Two-Minute” Video for this Week: Be Who You Are!
Conversations that Heal: On Shame
Shame is a deep and often dark subject; not an easy conversation subject, especially for men. I am posting this because I believe it is a very important topic and may open you to considering shame in a different light.
Rosemary recently had the privilege of participating in a Conversations that Heal Radio Show with host Susan Jacobi. They discussed the topic of ‘shame’ – what it can show up as in your life and some ways to clear shame from your timeline. I think you’ll find their discussion interesting, so here is the link to the 30-minute recording. Let us know in a comment what you think:
Men and The Goddess 