Archive
A Sunday evening poem: Accept and Flow to Grace
I’ve been meditating on this for the past few weeks; how do we get to that state of Grace? Actually I think I’ve been working on this for most of my life! And last year, 2018, my word for the year was “flow.” For 2019 my word is “grace.”
Maybe I’m finally putting things together! In the Chinese Medicine philosophy and approach the Five Elements govern a lot about who we are, how we live and how our health can be influenced. My Element, my constitution is Wood. The virtues of Wood are clarity, vision, creativity. The primary emotion is anger. And the process to transform anger into the virtues of Wood is Forgiveness!
Another factor in “putting things together” is my fingerprints. Without getting into the details of hand and fingerprint analysis I am in the “school of love” for this lifetime. So, these words, acceptance, flow, grace and love are important to me; I wrote this poem with these key words in mind:
Accept and Flow to Grace
Acceptance:
The magic act,
True magic,
No slight of hand,
No deceit,
Only the pure act:
Acceptance.
Forgiveness:
The magic act
Powering acceptance;
Forgive self,
Forgive Self,
Forgive him,
Forgive them,
They know not;
Only the pure act:
Forgiveness.
Flow:
The magic state,
Birthing with acceptance,
Breathing with forgiveness,
Moving through what is
Only the pure state:
Flow.
Grace:
The true magic,
Flowing from the heart,
Flowing from the mind,
Flowing from Cosmos,
Flowing from Divine;
The only pure Magic:
Grace.
Love:
The True Magic,
The germ of acceptance,
The pith of forgiveness,
The shell of flow,
The seed of Grace;
Only the pure Magic
Grows Love.
©2019, Richard W. Bredeson, all rights reserved.
A Poem for Friday: In Formation
Are you overwhelmed yet? The information continues to flood in around just about any subject area you can examine: politics, environment, world affairs, scientific discoveries, medical advances, … it never ends! And my question is, does any of it really matter?
In Formation
How does the average guy,
Filled with stress, anger, resentment,
Cortisol and dis-ease get along?
Is it any wonder that our country, society,
Our so-called culture, is in such a mess?
How in the world did we get here? I think
Technology has a lot to do with it.
I am applying our so-called technical advancement
To the Information Age we find ourselves in.
Are we in information overload?
And are we addicted to this flood of information?
The more we know the more we want to know.
But, do we really know anything?
The deeper we plunge into “existence”
The more we learn there is nothing there.
Matter at the lowest level winks in and out of existence.
Left alone it is a wave of energy probabilities.
Observe it, it becomes some-thing we call a particle;
Look away and it falls back into a wink and a wave,
Flapping in the breeze of the quantum field which
May be there, or not!
Does anyone truly understand this
When they hug their daughter goodbye?
We live in a world of probabilities
Never knowing for sure what is real,
What to believe, what is true,
What to perceive as with our own eyes.
We use to hear: “everything is energy.”
Now we are told: “everything is information.”
Energy packets contain the code that describes the state,
Like DNA seals our fate to grow, age and die.
Information too, grows, ages, dies – its half-life
Grows shorter through the age until it too
Winks out of existence, becomes the lie
That was so true yesterday!
We just know and then we don’t, letting it go, forgotten,
Overwhelmed by the next truth in packaging, in lending,
In the telling; just another story.
As the half-life of truth grows shorter,
Does it ever collapse into Truth?
Or is it always in formation,
Always becoming something else we take for Truth
Until it too become another short-lived truth, a lie?
©2019, Richard W. Bredeson, all rights reserved.
A Poem to Celebrate the coming: “Winter Solstice”
While many say “Jesus is the reason for the season” it was a season long before Jesus hit the scene. As with all of the Church holy days they are mapped onto ancient observations that may go back 100 thousand years or more.
I love the Winter Solstice for many reasons, but mostly for the return of the Sun (or Son if you will). After the three days around Solstice the Sun will rise again and begin the long climb to Summer Solstice.
Rosemary and I celebrate the Solstice as part of our Holidays. Happy Holidays to all, whatever and however you celebrate.
Winter Solstice
They say we are on a spiral journey;
We spin on the Mother,
Spinning around the Father,
Spinning at the edge of the Milky Way,
Wheeling through the fringe of the Verse.
The effects of this swirling seem small:
Summer Solstice spins through Fall
And on to deepening Winter as
Light recedes in lowering sky
And Spirit draws nigh offering Love.
The cycle is grounded in Mother’s core,
Energy following graceful traces of
Magnetic forces, lifting consciousness
Along soft grooves of innocence,
Natural paths for expanding vision.
Spiraling consciousness follows
These graceful lines of attracting energy,
Mapping courses for the transformations
Forever carrying us higher,
But never far away.
Earth bound and sky happy we rise
Ever seeking, always believing
There is more, we are more.
The season reminds the reason
We spiral on, lifting gradually.
We stretch our plastic minds,
Resisting brittle breakage
On our destined way.
Each turn reveals more, creates new
Perspectives, bigger dreams, exposing
Even so, the next turn.
Solstice deep to Solstice high
We spiral from choice to choice
Knowing the journey, seeing
Transformations from new heights
Learning more with every turn.
©2018, Richard W. Bredeson, all rights reserved.
Can We Afford Peace? (A Musing on 9/11)
Today I’m going to let this poem speak for itself.
Can We Afford Peace?
(A Musing on 9/11)
Remember the day the towers came down,
A glancing blow on the Potomac,
A plowed field in Pennsylvania.
Remember – Another “day of infamy.”
We memorialize this day each year
To burn the images, the losses, the audacity
A little deeper in the Soul of America.
We stir and restir the anger, the hate,
The fear of the other, brown people, Islam.
But do we remember to forgive?
Our sovereignty was attacked on 9/11;
Innocent trust in invincibility lost.
There is no sovereignty without forgiveness.
It is a hollow fate carved out by hate.
But we remember and stir to keep
The embers of revenge alive.
There is too much profit in war, revenge;
Too much profit for the powers:
We can’t afford peace. Forgiveness?
It may lead to peace – and loss!
©2018 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Monday poem: The Jesus Factor
On Saturday Rosemary and I attended a workshop with Anümani Santos, Unmasking the Alchemist within You. This was the fourth workshop we’ve done with her; it was great!
One of the opening elements of all Anümani workshops is drawing one of her cards that she has painted. They are all amazing. And I have drawn “A Portrait of Jesus” now twice, including yesterday. Why me? My first reaction a couple of months ago was resistance. I struggle with my “religion of origin.” Years ago I saw a bumper sticker on a colleague’s car: “The Christian Right is Neither”! This has stuck with me and sums up my attitude toward organized religions of most kinds, especially what Christianity has become.
So, why am I drawing this Portrait of Jesus? I believe it is a reminder that while the message of Jesus as been distorted and usurped by an ideological faction that has an anti-Christ, anti-love agenda, the basic original message is still worthy. I am reminded to refrain from throwing the baby Jesus out with the dirty bath water. I’m working on this; it will take some deep work. It won’t be easy or fast. But I am committing to review my attitude toward Jesus. After all it is not His fault his name as been taken and used in vain!
Here is my first attempt at doing the inner work:
The Jesus Factor
In His name we pray!
How often do we hear this;
Do we now fear this?
What is it they pray?
“Obey the law” writes Paul –
To the Romans! Political Paul.
And the first law is Love says Jesus.
Who do they really follow?
His name is now taken in vain
By those who proclaim him Lord.
Misquotes, misinterpretations, outright wrongs
Are stated as Christian by the righteous.
They are not right; nor are they just.
They mislead and betray divine trust.
They twist the Jesus Factor to evil ends.
It is time to recall, return his name
To serve the higher purpose he showed
To love without condition or goal.
Resist the Jesus factor they claim –
Not him, not in his name – only love.
©2018 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
New Year’s Eve: Out with the Old!
One of the teachers I am working with has asked us, as part of our year-end review, to release all the old habits, feelings, beliefs, thoughts that are not serving us. I’ve spent this week reviewing the year, in fact the past nine years, to dredge up and lever out the old “stuff” that’s “down there!” As another of my teachers would say, “it is time to metabolize that “stuff” and turn it into compost for new growth!”
2016 is a 9-year, a year for completion. 2017 is a 1-year, a year for new beginnings! Today is a great day to release the old to make room for the new.
Here is my poem to reflect on this process; a riff on the five elements of Classical Chinese Medicine and Philosophy:
Release—
Anger through forgiveness:
Grow through the lessons,
Rise with the lengthening days,
Draw on all the resources,
Create your own destiny!
Anxiety through surrender:
Expand through the lessons,
Allow engaging relationships,
Mature in thoughts and actions,
Manifest inalienable joy!
Worry through service:
Serve from the lessons,
Share from the heart,
Engage in all life offers,
Adapt to the Way of life!
Grief through acceptance:
Transmute through the lessons,
Balance loss with gifts,
Release emptiness for fullness,
Purify life through praise!
Fear through trust:
Contemplate life’s lessons,
Believe in your own power,
Feel free and confident in life,
Flow through the currents to Wisdom!
©2016 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Learn Something New Today!
Where do you go for information? Or are you not curious about learning something new?
I sometimes lament the fact that I don’t have enough life left in which to learn and to master all that I want to learn and master. So many books to read! (My preferred way to learn and explore) There are classes to take, webinars to join, documentaries to watch, people to meet and talk with, topics to research.
And where can I get information that I trust?
I have discovered that there is a lot of wisdom to be gained through meditation. My guides give me lots of answers. They also lead me to sources where answers can be found. I trust their guidance.
Trust is key. Do you trust your sources? Do you trust your inner guidance? Or do you place your trust in one source other than yourself and choose not to do further research on your own?
There is nothing wrong with having a trusted source of information. I wouldn’t be teaching classes, whether on dowsing or hypnosis or essential oils, if I didn’t believe in what I am sharing. And, yet, I invite students to explore topics on their own. Do research. Compare different sources. Read a bunch of books on a topic. Talk to people you trust about their views/experiences/knowledge.
And check inside to see how you feel about what you are encountering. Does it resonate for you? Another person’s truth may not be truth for you.
This is especially true in the realm of spirituality. What someone else believes may be truth for them at that moment but it might not fit for you. Have you changed your beliefs in your lifetime?
Of course you have! Didn’t you, at one time, think the Tooth Fairy came and exchanged money for a tooth under your pillow? And didn’t Santa Claus bring your toys at Christmas?
What about that belief that you couldn’t do something? Until you tried it and succeeded?
And how about that belief that ‘nobody likes me’ that we all felt at some point, as a child or even in adulthood. Well, I like you now!
What we believe can change. What we know today can be modified with the next moment’s input.
You are never too old to learn something new – about life, about the world, about yourself. Are you exploring? Are you curious? Are you asking questions?
When I worked on the Hubble Space Telescope we had to be open to what was revealed to us. Many theories were confirmed. Others were contradicted. We continue to learn about the Cosmos from the discoveries that our space exploration is bringing to us.
NASA has just released pictures of Pluto from close up, after almost a decade of traveling to get those pictures. What will be revealed? How exciting it is that something new is coming to us to learn!
In personal life, what we don’t know we don’t know can trip us up! If you think you know everything you need to know, you will stop growing, stop evolving. Keep asking questions. Keep exploring yourself and the world around you.
Learn something new TODAY!
PS: Do you want to learn more about Rosemary? Visit her website and learn how to receive a FREE 7-minute destress meditation!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Truth is Light
The truth inside you is revealed by your finding your Inner Light and shining that out into the world.
Do you think that you know the ‘Truth’ with a capital ‘T’? So often, we seek truth, we think we find truth, we think our truth is better than their truth. But, really, what is this truth that we seek, find, compare?
Did you used to believe in Santa Claus? The Tooth Fairy? The Easter Bunny? What is the truth around these characters?
Maybe you believed in the Boogeyman or the Monster Under the Bed? What is the truth about these characters?
Your belief made these very real to you. I suspect, however, that you have changed your truth around Santa Claus and the Boogeyman. What makes you feel that other stories you once believed, or believe today, cannot also change as you mature, evolve and grow?
The truth of who you are is the Inner Light that is the spark of the Divine, your connection to Source Energy, the Universe Within, your Spirit. Whatever you call your essence it is your truth.
What you believe can change from day to day, from moment to moment, but who you are – who you REALLY are, at your core – that does not change.
When you believe that you are a light being, placed on this Earth with a purpose to fulfill, a reason for being here, in this very place at this very moment surrounded by the very people who surround you, then you can be who you really are.
Your circumstances do not define who you are. Who you love and who doesn’t love you have nothing to do with the Light Within you. What you do does not say who you are. Your success or failure does not speak to who you are.
You are Light. Your truth comes from the cosmic light that was formed at the beginning of the Universe. Anything that is trying to dim you, to dim your light, is not truth.
Just as Santa Claus is a belief, so is most of what you believe about yourself ‘just a belief.’
I hear from clients language that tells me their belief has crept into their definition of ‘truth.’ ‘I’m not smart enough.’ ‘I can’t afford that.’ ‘I’m too fat to _____.’ ‘When I get that job I’ll be happy.’ ‘I’m too old to _____.’
I also hear things like ‘Life is hard.’ ‘Suffering is just a part of life.’ ‘I don’t have anyone who will help me.’
The list goes on. And I would bet that you could add to this list from your own experience.
Yet, these beliefs are not Truth with a capital T. They are beliefs. Beliefs can change.
“I’m the only one who can take care of that’ can change to ‘I’ll ask my brother to handle that issue for Mom.’ ‘I don’t have enough money to get the help I need’ can change to ‘I trust that money will come to me as I need it when I get my priorities straight.’
This list goes on, too.
Your truth can change as you mature, evolve and grow. Let it shift. Look for the Light. Truth has a Light Quality about it that helps you to believe.
The Truth is that you are your Inner Light. Now be who you REALLY are!
PS: Do you find it difficult to access your Inner Light from the place of stress in your daily life? Rosemary has a short, 7-minute meditation audio to help you relax, release and access that Light. You can get it now, here on her website: Get Meditation
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Evolve Your Light
When you became a human being, when you took your first breath of Mother Earth’s atmosphere, you began a journey of evolution. The journey of a lifetime is the evolution of your consciousness, from the moment you are born until the moment you take that last breath of air. At every moment in your life you are growing in your awareness of the world around you.
The question today is, ‘Are you evolving or are you attempting to stay where you are?’
So many people are struggling in this world because they are focused on using the tools they already have, on following the thoughts and beliefs from earlier days, on listening to what someone else is saying is true instead of going inside to seek their own truth. The shift that is needed is a shift in consciousness, an evolutionary approach to solving problems and to living life.
You were born as a bright light on the horizon of humanity. Everyone around you was waiting for you to come into the world. Even if you have a belief that you were unwanted, know that the souls around you then and now asked for you to arrive when and where and to whom you did.
Now, at whatever your current age is, those souls are looking to you for your light to shine on the path that you are sharing. How do you shine your light? By living your soul’s purpose, by being the light that you already are.
I see too many people choosing to hide. It appears to be so much easier to shrink from the spotlight and to stay on the sidelines of life. I don’t just mean refusing to get on the stage – I mean shrinking back from the enormity of what you feel is your raison d’etre, your reason for being here, your soul purpose.
It can feel like a tremendous burden or too huge a task to fulfill that purpose. Good. That means that you have tapped into what you are really here to be and to do!
No matter what form your life is taking at this moment, you are here to be the Light in the life of those around you. Lead by lighting the way for them to follow. Show by your example that you are willing to live your purpose and to be a Light in the world.
You don’t have to be famous, or on the stage, or find medical cures or solve world hunger, although you might. You DO, however, have a responsibility to the world to be the brightest light that you are able to be, right now, today, in whatever circumstances you face.
YOU are in charge of the development and evolution of your own consciousness. No one around you can do it for you. You were not born to find answers and then stagnate. You are here to learn the next thing, to study, to grow, to evolve.
How are you doing this?
This is where hiding does not serve you or the evolution of human consciousness. Reach out to learn what you can, to connect with others who are also on the path of the evolution of consciousness. Shine your light for them and allow them to shine their lights for you.
Take a class. Read a book. Join a group. Have a conversation.
It is especially important that you do your personal growth work. Clear negative thoughts and limiting beliefs that are holding you and your light hostage to them. Explore possibilities that will take you outside your comfort zone.
Evolve and shine the bright light that you are!
Start with ‘We Are All One’ – Richard’s Commentary
It is healing to reread Rosemary’s “exploration” which was written before the midterm elections held Tuesday. Election Day is now behind us here in the US. Come January we will have a new Congress at the Federal level and a new shift in the political landscape across the country from State governorships to Statehouse composition.
Tuesday evening, as election results started coming in, I grew more and more concerned with this shift. Yes, I am a liberal, a progressive, a socialist…I am not afraid of these labels because they paint me with a color I am pleased to wear. So, you can understand why I grew concerned. The voters, if not the country, want change. This I do understand. My concern is with the direction of the changes. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling wounded; in need of healing.
Then I reread: Start with ‘We Are All One’; and I thought: What if we “Start with we are all one”?
There’s nothing like an election to bring out the worst in people, to polarize people, to divide and confuse, exaggerate and obfuscate to get people not only voting, but often voting against their own best interests. And then I read:
What do you believe? Let’s start with the folks around you, your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, the community, your country. Are they all ‘others’ to you? How about people who live on the other side of the world? The other side of the political spectrum? The other skin colors? The other religions?
And I ask myself about those on “the other side of the political spectrum” and begin to wonder. They are people doing the best they can with the information and resources they have. I may wish for them to have more information, more resources, but that is an empty wish. No matter the result from Tuesday’s election and no matter the polarity dividing people into political camps we are all in this together. And even that sounds socialist but we are here, all Earthlings, breathing the same air and held by the same gravity. And so the healing begins.
The more we focus on ‘otherness’ the less we understand about who we really are as individuals. Yes, we have separate physical bodies, but we are all one. We are all one big organism called ‘humanity’ on Earth.
The dividing lines begin to fade. There is shift and change, ebb and flow, a breeze from a different direction. As with everything in life it is temporary, impermanent. And maybe with this shift some things will get done. We can hope for a new level of cooperation, some consensus building over the next couple of years. Can we even hope for some compromise?
I don’t have to like the election results. I don’t have to pretend the direction the country may be turning is good or correct. But I do have to accept the change and find hope in movement. And I need to remember to:
Start with We Are All One. Everything really is connected, so connected, in fact, that it is One. We can share. Just as we learned in kindergarten, it is okay to take turns, to share, to participate together so that everyone is taken care of.
It’s the conservatives’ turn. Let’s heal from the bruising election and hope there can be some positive movement of the One Human Organism!
Please enjoy!
Men and The Goddess 