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Are You the Rose or the Thorn? – Richard’s Commentary
I write this on a nasty, stormy day here in the East – blame storm “Saturn” for it. In Annapolis we were fortunate enough to get nothing but rain and a little wind, nothing too damaging. Oh, there was an overturned semi-tractor-trailer on the Bay Bridge which shut down both spans in both directions. This is a major headache for traffic in this area and it ties up roadways for miles and hours. I’m sure a few thorns came out for people today!
I felt a bit prickly myself. It is a very busy week for me working to get class material finalized and assembled for Rosemary, helping to set up presentations and making sure I am ready to video record the whole class, working on my own practices including preparation for Qigong Instructor Certification this Saturday, and keeping up with the normal routine.
And with the storm shutting down schools and work for the anticipated snow the house was full of people today with many pulls on attention and energy. The energy, in fact, swirled at times beyond the normal boundaries and out of control. My Qi was disturbed.
I am working hard to keep my calm, to smooth out my Qi, to remain in flow and let go of all the little things that can too often ruffle my feathers. And yet my thorns came out! In some sense these thorns were for protection, not necessarily of my beautiful inner rose, but of my time, my priorities, my space, my practice, my, my, my…
But is this why the rose has thorns, to hide her flower. I don’t think so. The rose displays her beauty for all to see. Her light shines on everyone. She opens her softness to reveal that light and inner beauty. All she asks in return is a small amount of space. Her thorns protect that space. Yes, they are sharp but they only stick in a little bit, only as a warning not to come any closer.
Too often my thorns stab too deep. I only need a little space and too often create cold distance. I need time to breathe but don’t want to breathe alone. I struggle with balance here between protection and open sharing of my light.
The advice I hear is to “be the Rose that you are and shed the thorns.” I am working on this, working on the openness. Is it always safe to do this?
Wednesday evening Rosemary and I were part of a Spiritual Exploration Group. It is a group that comes together by invitation to share deeply. It is a safe place; and many of us share very deeply about personal experiences. Everything shared stays in the room. It is easy to shed my thorns in this group. I have no fear of my space there. Can I take this feeling of safety into the outer world and share my light? Can I shed all my defenses and open my lamp-shade to let out the light?
It is time. We have moved beyond 2012 and well into the 21st Century. It is time for all of us to come into our true selves, to shine our light and to be open to the flow of the Universe. It begins inside, where the light originates. We first let go of the thorns that prick us from the inside; some call them our “demons.” Egos have thorns that keep us in line! These are good for survival, just as the rose uses her thorns to protect her space for survival. But maybe we need to move beyond basic survival needs and into the light.
We cannot transform the world with thorns. We can work toward a better world through open acceptance of our light and to shine that light through fulfilling our purpose, what Rosemary calls our “soul commitment.”
Maybe that commitment needs to be stronger than our need for protection!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Are You the Rose or the Thorn?
Today’s Exploration is a Mystic Message from The Divine Feminine. Enjoy!
“Dear Ones,
Roses are among the most beautiful flowers on Planet Earth and, yet, roses have thorns on them. The thorns on the rose stem are not there as punishment but as protection for the beauty and fragrance of the flower.
You are like the rose flower – beautiful to see and enticing with attracting essence of you like the fragrance of attar of roses. The thorns on your stem are the protective barriers that you have erected to prevent anyone from getting too close to your essence. The outward beauty attracts but the inner is hidden and protected.
This very human way of being in the world has led many to forget about their own inner beauty. They have become so used to the thorns that they hold themselves aloof and separate from the essence of others and even from their own.
THIS is the main problem on Earth in the 21st Century – a forgetting, an amnesia of the essence of humanity.
Many see only the prickly thorns of others and focus on the façade that others have erected as protection. Most have even fooled themselves by their own protective stances into believing that they are what they project to the world.
Nothing could be further from the Truth.
You, Dear One, are as beautiful as the most beautiful rose. Your essence is as attractive as attar of roses, which has a very high vibratory frequency. No one can take away or diminish your essence, your inner vibration. However, YOU can choose to lower your vibration, to appear to the world as someone you are not.
For you, Dear One, are the Light of the World. You hold a high vibration of Light Essence in you that only you can choose to show to the world.
Are you willing to expose yourself to the world as you truly are at your core? Or will you choose to continue to hide behind the façade that you have created to fit the model of the world that you want to believe is real?
The light within you is REAL. The world around you is the collective agreement of all of the facades that people have erected to project an image of an imagined reality.
Break FREE of this projection!
Be the REAL YOU in the world!
Allow others to choose whether or not they will stay behind their façade, but choose to reveal the Inner Light of YOU.
Be the Rose that you are and shed the thorns. The time is NOW.
And So It Is.”
Rosemary adds:
Remember that you are the Light of the World. It’s time for each of us to step up to our Soul Commitment and be the person we were born to be. We all survived the big Shift of 2012 and we can no longer hide our light from each other. Have you done the work to connect with the Inner You? Are you confident that you are manifesting your Inner Light to the world?
What are you waiting for? We’re all waiting for YOU to SHINE!!!
And we love you for letting us share in your Light. As each of us shines we invite all others to do the same. Think how great a world we can create when we are all shining as brightly as we can. Wow!!!
PS: If you are in the Annapolis, MD area you are not too late! Check out Rosemary’s Rainbow Balance Color Therapy class which begins tomorrow! It’s scheduled for Thursday evenings in March, the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. And if you are not in the area you’ll be able to take the class online soon. Stay tuned for more information.
If you can make it Click Here for Details
INSPIRATION FROM ROSEMARY: Vibrational Frequencies & You
Here’s Rosemary’s video for the week: Vibrational Frequencies & You
PS: Rosemary’s Rainbow Balance Color Therapy class begins this Thursday; and there is still space available if you are in the Annapolis area! The class is scheduled on four successive Thursday evenings in March, the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. And if you are not in the area you’ll be able to take the class online soon. Stay tuned for the details.
If you can make it Click Here for Details
The 5-Elements of the Tao
I love the way the Universe works. When I can take a breath, step back and observe, I am in awe that everything works! From the micro to the macro, from above to below, there is such beauty and bliss. And I am particularly inspired by the synchronicity of it all!
I just finished my Svaroopa Yoga class with a good and long-time friend, Dharma. As always it was gentle, he is so calm and peaceful, the asanas were relatively “easy”, and I came away stretched and balanced. And I believe it felt good and easy because I’ve been practicing Qigong pretty seriously all week. Overall I feel stronger and my balance has improved! Tomorrow I am back in my long-term Qigong class where we learn about “spontaneous healing” and practice 5-Element Qigong. And to top off the week I am on my way to Baltimore on Saturday for more Level 1 Qigong Form training with Jeff Primack, founder of the Qi Revolution!
And the beauty, the synchronicity continues! I have been developing a workshop after some excellent coaching with another friend, Ken Ellis. I have been questioning for years what to present to a group of men to help us all through development of “emotional maturity”. I have been motivated by many of my teachers from Robert Bly to Martín Prechtel to Robert Moore, to name a few. An idea began to form through my 5-Element Qigong practice. Ken urged me on and drew out of me a fascinating outline for a workshop. And there my concept languished since last summer.
Very recently the true beauty of the Universe unfolded another lotus petal and synchronicity struck again. This blog, Men and The Goddess, attracted the attention of a fellow blogger, Ellis Nelson. Of course, I checked out her blog: EllisNelson.com, and there it was, her review of a book that fits my scheme beautifully: Power of the Five Elements by Charles A. Moss, MD. I read a few additional reviews, ordered it immediately and have been pouring through it since it arrived. It is a perfect fit, a companion piece to exactly what I have in mind for my workshop.
I will write my own review of Dr. Moss’ book when I’ve finished reading it thoroughly. In short this work is not only confirming my own thinking about the 5 elements, it is expanding on the material I have already gathered. Beyond helping with my workshop development, it is helping me, directly impacting on how I perceive the world and how the world perceives me! Not only has this book confirmed my element, it has pegged me in every way; it has identified my strengths and weakness, my blessings and my faults, my motivations, outlook and fears. It has had quite an impact on me.
For me this confirms the ancient wisdom embodied in the Tao. As I work with material like Dr. Moss presents, practice 5-element qigong, work with the I Ching, continue my reading of Taoist literature it all comes together to form a beautiful whole. This is becoming a true Way for me. The signs are unmistakable!
And the Way flows on and the Universe unfolds a petal at a time. My qigong practice intensifies as I begin training for certification to become a qigong teacher. All of the 5 Elements are coming together to show me the Way of all the individuals in my life. And the workshop I am developing for presentation this summer is flowering into reality.
We have entered the month of March. Here in the Northern Hemisphere signs of spring are popping up everywhere. It’s a beautiful Universe and we are all alive at an amazing time!
Blessings!
It’s a Sign!!! – Richard’s Commentary
Inside-outside; optimism-pessimism; half-full-half-empty. There’s a spiral of thoughts here in Rosemary’s Exploration to digest. And somehow the article this week points directly at me!
I’ve been an optimist all my life. And I live a reasonably healthy internal life and do look for confirming signs all around me. And then I went to the doctor last week.
It’s funny Rosemary should use the example: “You might have been given a medical diagnosis that you don’t like.” My doctor visit, the first in several years, was just routine; I thought I should get a new base-line of all the numbers western medicine is so fond of analyzing. I feel in excellent health, eating well on a pretty strict regimen of raw nut, seed, fruit and vegetable smoothies for breakfast and lunch, exercising with yoga and qigong, meditating, working for myself and a pretty gentle boss (Rosemary); all good things right? So, the nurse took my blood pressure and seemed pretty alarmed; “all the celery in your smoothies doesn’t seem to be working” she remarked.
OK, I’ve had an issue with high blood pressure before; it’s a genetic condition. I have taken medication in the past but then controlled it reasonably well with Chinese herbs, acupuncture, etc. I thought I was good to go for life! Not so! The external sign here is a warning that things need to change even more.
And I am resisting this change; my resistance is not improving my blood pressure a bit! I am ignoring the external signs, but struggling to change the internal perspective in order to see the external signs change. While I remain an optimist my glass seems to be closer to empty than full! Am I fooling myself?
Since my experience at Qi Revolution with Jeff Primack I have been practicing his Level 1 Qigong Form every day. I am getting prepared for Level 1 training this Saturday. And I am planning to go for certification to teach Level 1 a week later on March 9th. I am optimistic that I can achieve this goal. I am changing my diet to include many of Jeff’s recommendations in his Conquering Any Disease book, following many of his suggestions for reducing high blood pressure (yep, more celery!) and curing heart disease. More internal changes.
Now, I realize this is a life-change and not an over-night change that I’m working on here. It’s only been a week since that doctor visit. But the optimist in me is looking for the external signs to support my internal changes. And my blood pressure remains high; that half-full glass is looking even more empty!
And the spiral continues, but in a downward spin. What is this about? All signs, whether they are inward or outward, point to lessons. There’s something karmic here; something much deeper than qigong practice and meditation. And I need to dig down where that spiral is drilling to wedge out this darkness that is shadowing my optimism. And no matter how deeply we dig for the lead or the gold, there is always another layer to dredge up, examine and alchemically transform. The signs point the way; they are critical signs to follow.
I am reading those signs carefully; I am taking my blood pressure multiple times a day. I am asking many questions and looking deeply in the dark mirror, working to clear it of dust. I am watching but not expecting new external signs any time soon. And that’s OK; I have time.
And I’m taking a newly prescribed drug (two, actually, in one pill). Yes, I have at least temporarily resorted to western medicine’s approach to my condition. I am hopeful this will improve my pressure and give me more time for the natural approach to kick in.
Yes, I read the sign, and while I didn’t like the direction it pointed, I realize there are many more lessons for this western man to learn, many more internal adjustments to make and many more years to practice!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: It’s a Sign!!!
Spring is busting out all over!
Ha! Ha! Fooled you! It’s still winter here and we experienced a wintery mix just yesterday.
BUT I did see some flowers popping up through the frozen ground this week. That gives me hope.
If you look for signs, you will find them. If you keep your eyes focused on the little bits of snow or the frozen, leafless trees or bushes, that is what you will see. What are you looking for?
In life we are given many opportunities to declare ourselves optimists or pessimists. The glass is half-full or half-empty. The fact is that the 8 ounce glass has 4 ounces in it, but the way we perceive that fact colors how we think about it, talk about it, feel about it.
How are you feeling about yourself, your life, your relationsips, your work right now? Could that feeling be based on how you talk about something, which is based on what you think about it and how you perceive something that can be reduced to a fact, like the glass holding 4 ounces of liquid?
What signs are you looking for, or are you waiting for something to happen (externally) to change how you feel (internally)? This, I think, is the crux of the ‘feeling stuck syndrome.’ We keep ourselves focused on that ‘something’ that we expect to change and then we wait for the external to shift so we can shift how we feel internally. This is bass-ackwards!
Shift inside FIRST and watch the external situation change! Reach inside yourself for the truth and act upon that, not your perceptions of the so-called reality you see outside yourself. Where does your hope come from? Are there signs that you are ignoring because you are looking for something to back up how you are feeling instead of shifting your interior state so that you can see the signs that help you to move forward with great hope?
This game of ‘inside-outside’ can trap us in every area of our lives. We dislike a person, often projecting unconsciously our own insecurities and faults onto them, then they react to that negative energy. We are so sure something isn’t going to work out that we talk about that expectation, reinforcing that thought, speaking it over and over again, and then we are so cocky when we say, ‘See! I told you it wouldn’t work out!’ Often we never even looked for a way to make it work out because we were so sure that it wouldn’t.
And that is what happens to us – we don’t even seek solutions or improvements because we’re so convinced that there are none.
Reach out beyond what you can see to the possibilities that are there. Keep your mind open to optimism. Maybe things aren’t as bleak as they seem. Maybe the glass really is half-full and not half-empty. Take charge of how you think, speak, feel about something and it just might change around you.
You have the ability to shift your thinking, speaking and feeling. Sure, there might be some circumstances that aren’t exactly the way you’d like them to be. You might have been given a medical diagnosis that you don’t like. You might be in a complicated relationship. You might have financial issues, or a job you don’t like. There are lots of things that could be happening around you.
BUT, and this is huge, you have the power to change how you interact with circumstances. You can get angry, at yourself or someone else. You can get depressed and close yourself off from others. You can choose to do something about your situation, such as see a counselor or coach, change your eating program, get another job, move on to a different relationship. And you can always choose to examine your own thoughts and feelings to decide if this is the level at which you wish to change.
Watch for signs that bring you hope. If you see something that reinforces a thought that seems pessimistic, take the time to look around for what an optimist would see. Play the game for yourself, by yourself.
After all, Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow on Groundhog Day so we’re sure to have an early Spring, whether you see the flowers yet or not! It’s a sign!!!
PS: If you are in the Annapolis, MD area check out Rosemary’s Rainbow Balance Color Therapy class coming on four successive Thursday evenings in March, the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. Special pricing for this class expires March 1. If you are not in the area you’ll be able to take the class online soon. Stay tuned for the details.
If you can make it Click Here for Details
INSPIRATION FROM ROSEMARY: Decide on the Signs to See
Rosemary’s video for the week: Decide on the Signs to See
PS: If you are in the Annapolis, MD area you are in for a treat! Rosemary is offering her Rainbow Balance Color Therapy class on four successive Thursday evenings in March, the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. Special pricing for this class expires March 1. Act soon! If you are not in the area you’ll be able to take the class online very soon. Stay tuned for the details.
If you can make it Click Here for Details
MONDAY’S POEM: Qi
I am still in that flow from Qi Revolution! Read this poem slowly; breathe with it; feel the qi!
Qi
Breathe in,
Expand.
Breath out,
Let go.
Slow moves
Outward.
Slow down
Inward.
Flame builds,
Brightness.
Flame dies,
Darkness.
Moon fills,
Grows large.
Moon wanes,
Release.
Wind moves,
Blows strong.
Wind drops,
Relax.
Creek flows,
Running.
Creek slows,
Pooling.
Tree boughs
Nodding.
Tree stands,
Stilling.
Feel qi,
Fill space.
Feel qi,
Empty.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: Happy Full Moon; today, Monday at 3:26 pm Eastern time.
Qi Revolution
This is what I experienced this past week; four days emersion in an energy bubble, a total “qi-field” created by Jeff Primack and 300 of my fellow qigong practitioners! And I have to tell you it was transformative! 32 hours of qi is something everyone has to experience. I believe this is why Jeff is calling this event a revolution; it truly does revolutionize one’s thinking about life, health, food, energy, the “field of all possibilities”, Source, Light, Love…the list goes on and on.
As some of you know I’ve been practicing qigong for about a year now. I have been working primarily with a brilliant acupuncturist and qigong instructor who trained with Jeff Primack and other masters. I have learned a “Five-Element” form that is truly life changing because it addresses all of the vital organs associated with the five elements in the Chinese system of health; these are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The five elements form a complete philosophy of life, health, mental and emotional well-being and longevity. And now I am adding at least the first level of Jeff’s form to take my practice into another dimension of the qi-field.
What is qi? I think of it as “life force.” It’s vitality, the feeling of energy, like an electric current that flows through everything. It seems to make the air around us and that we breathe into us alive with power. There are different names for this energetic field in many languages; this is Prana in Sanskrit, Mana in Hawaiian spirituality as examples. And through specialized practices we can begin to sense this vital force that animates the entire Universe. In this sense it is the creative force that manifests the All.
Qigong is a masterful way to get in tune with this force. It is a way to sense it externally to our bodies and a way to build it up and focus it within our bodies. Qigong is a combination of movement and coordinated breath work. Movement is subtle, slow, meditative and focused. It is an excellent way to cultivate “no-mind” – to quiet the chattering “monkey-mind.” Breathing is regulated, deepened, another focus for the quiet mind; it oxygenates the entire body with a renewed sense of aliveness. Coordinating the movements with the focused breathing leaves no room for other thoughts; worries are left behind, endless loops of future plans and past review are pushed away; there is only room for now, the moment of the next move and the next breath!
Beyond Level 1 practice there are two additional levels, two other forms to work toward. Then there is Jeff’s approach to healthy food: “The Ultimate High-Phytochemical Food Healing System.” We also practiced a Strength Building form of Qigong, a tough routine for me to get through; I’ll have to build up to this practice!
And to give us breaks Jeff interspersed practice with several informative and always entertaining keynote talks on all the fascinating subjects I love to explore, from “near death experience” to life elsewhere in the Universe to the destiny of the human race!
Watching Jeff in action is a study in itself. He is virtually bursting with qi. He practices everything he teaches. Even when he has a senior student lead a Level 1 practice he is right there on stage going through the practice with us. This is one teacher who clearly practices what he preaches!
Jeff Primack takes the Qi Revolution on the road each year. His first stop this past weekend was Baltimore. If you are in this area and missed him, try to catch his event next year; you won’t be disappointed. And check out his website: qigong.com for a future event near you. I’ll be seeing him again soon in Baltimore for Level 1 Qigong Training. I can hardly wait to be back in that powerful field of qi!
Here’s to your Qi-Health!
Where Are You Headed? – Richard’s Commentary
Permission, Dreams, Plans. Yes, these are the steps to answer the question of heading.
Permission is a big first step! Many of us find ourselves in situations that are stressful, unfulfilling, and far from the dreams we may have had as kids or younger adults. And nearly as many find themselves with the sense they are locked in to a life “not of their choosing.” Well, I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but humans are all about “choice.” We do choose everything that leads to every moment whether we want to believe this or not.
Staying in a situation that is stressful, unfulfilling and far from our dreams is a choice. We may feel like we can’t make a change. But we must give ourselves permission to make the changes that will lead to more satisfying lives. This is the time, right now, when we must begin to live into our purpose. And there is no external authority to give us this permission, this choice. This can only come from within. Yes, sometimes it takes courage to give ourselves this permission, to choose to change. But there is little chance of improvement without change.
Dreams are the second step in determining your heading. I am not suggesting a change in heading without careful examination of what you want in life. Perhaps security is more important to you than living the life of your dreams. In this case remaining in a secure but stressful environment may be the better choice. Do a gut check. Do a values check. What is most important? If your answer is greater fulfillment then go back to your dreams. Imagine the life you want. Fill in the details, begin to feel that life, breathe it, taste it, hear it, see the way it unfolds. This is creating the detailed vision of that dream. Dare to dream big. Let your imagination soar. This is the creative and fun part of this process.
Plans are the details of the dreams. Without plans dreams will remain idle, the hazy, cloud-like sketches of fantasy. Plans are an extension to the details of the vision, another layer to continue to build the dreams toward reality, the blueprints for the transformation. Plans generate the actions you need to take to make the changes. They identify the resources you need and outline the schedule and sequence of those actions.
And plans require attention too. Measure and assess the work toward the desired changes to track progress and to adjust the process as you gain additional information. As you implement your plans you will get continuous feedback; use this to make any needed adjustments. One of Rosemary’s mentor’s, James Roché refers to this process as kaizen: making small adjustments to improve a process based on continuous feedback and assessment. Even after your dream comes true kaizen can be applied to make the dream even better!
I just finished a four-day workshop with Jeff Primack, his Qi Revolution program. And it was awesome. I’ve been doing qigong for about a year now and have embraced the concepts, worked through a couple of forms and have incorporated it into both my health regimen. I also plan to blend some qigong concepts into a workshop of my own I am planning for this summer. Qi Revolution changed this vision I have, not only for my workshop but for my entire life! This is an excellent example of kaizen. I am making adjustments to my workshop plan and my vision for my future based on the feedback, in this case from the Universe, which brought me to Jeff’s workshop. It’s not a total change in direction, but a significant refinement in heading, a course correction that will get me to my dream more effectively and maybe even more rapidly.
(I’ll write more about Qi Revolution in tomorrow’s post.)
Have you given yourself permission to dream big, beyond your current situation? It’s a big step! Dare to dream!
Men and The Goddess 