On the bus

9 "Small Influences"

Your Present Hexagram 9 "Small Influences"

A gentle wind gathers the clouds, but still, no rain. Softer influences predominate as the power of subtle forces grows. This is a time for smooth and friendly persuasion.

In the ebb and flow of events, there are always 'low tides' — times when sweeping action is impossible or inappropriate, but when small matters can be attended to profitably, leading to bigger and better things later on. When the tide is rolling in, by all means, ride the wave; but when it is receding like it is now, focus on little things.

When the times are such that you cannot do much to affect large matters, persuasion and subtle influence can prepare the way for strength in the future. Use your intuition to chart your long-term course, but avoid bold actions for the moment, for they are unlikely to work. This is an excellent time to refine existing abilities or develop new talents.

Be wary of others' intentions if they hold the upper hand in a situation. Examine their sources of power, so as to discover subtle influences you may be able to exert upon them.

Christmas Past

Just a few more Days and I'll be home for Christmas

Words of Wisdom

Sunrises, Sunsets, Christmas and Lights

BEGINNING AND ENDING

As the year is coming quickly to a close it gives one time to reflect at what is really important and necessary in ones life...here's to new beginnings each and every day... 

Stillness

YES STILL BELIEVE

Birthday Surprise

The International Students Surprised me on my birthday with a cake and sang both in Portuguese and English.

Complete Mantra:
I sit, gently I hear your Name
Whispered on wind and rain
Touching my skin so softly

On fire, my heart is aflame again
Burning from deep within
Waiting for this dream to end

I surrender my fear
...

And my foolish pride
And my tears
I come home to you
Again and again

Gurmukhi: Ang Sang Waheguru
Translation: The miracle of God, and the experience of God is within each and every cell and fiber.

Imagine a woman who embodies her spirituality.
A woman who honors her body as the sacred temple of the spirit of life.
Who breathes deeply as a prayer of gratitude for life itself.
~Patricia Lynn Reilly

Painting by Elisabeth Slettnes

THE ESSENCE OF REALIZATION

The Essence of Realization
You are not a thing. You are not a thinker. You are not a feeler.

Make no mistake about it, for we are already in the maze of words. Forget the words (they are just thoughts – and go to the essence).

...

What is luminous, ever-present and prior to any mental cognition? You are that.

The seeker is a thing, a thing on a mission. Both the thing and its mission are illusions of the mind already wedded to lack and inadequacy. That is the core delusion.

It is also the Wound.

The seeker is the mask that is the inevitable outcome of the Wound as well as that which keeps it partly hidden. No matter how hard we try the pain of the Wound will always be with us. It is the permanent scar of our primal scarring.

The false identity will always coalesce around a thought, for it is a thought and thoughts can only know other thoughts! Reflect on that; thoughts can ONLY refer to other thoughts – it is a universe of thought.

How does that happen?

It happens this way. One thought fixates on another. The connection of the two thoughts creates an entity (“you”).

Fixation occurs in two flavors. One, it (the subject thought, i.e., “you”) will judge another thought as bad (or good). That is flavor one. The second flavor clings, where the subject thought (“you”) claims another thought as itself. This is how the false “you” is created. It is created a hundred times or more everyday. In this way it is made into a deeply embedded and inevitable habit. We call this habit the psyche.

So what to do?

Just notice without ever judging or clinging. Just softly and graciously notice the whole show of appearances. That’s the whole teaching.

This is, in essence, pure Buddhism. It is simple, but it’s not, necessarily easy, but it doesn’t need to be difficult. Only the mind (the “you” thought) will judge it so and thus make it so.

Just softly and graciously notice. That’s all.

KNOW

Know

that you were conceived in perfection.
that you are a sacred being.
that you never came here to prove yourself.
that your birth is all the proof you will ever need.
that your parents were not equipped to accept you exactly as you are.
that, as a result, they used Fear and Force to mold you into the being they thought you should be.
that you may not be able to be yourself as you truly are, for you have absorbed those projections.
that love is a birth right and never needs to be earned.
that the Power that created you created the mountains and the oceans.
that the only meaning Life possesses is for you to express your love and joy.
that we live in a time where the foundations of this culture are built on Fear.
that this Fear is what makes this time unique, as well as to make it such a challenge.
that our false identity is also built on a foundation made of Fear and that this Fear is passed through the generations.
that on account of this identification with Fear that we hoard, we flee, we secure ourselves in the many prisons of the psyche.
that the challenge of our lives is to see how to bring the false to light.
that when the false is brought to light that we liberate ourselves from the dense web formed as a consequence of our personal and group invalidation.
that the root of Fear is Invalidation.
that we are healed through understanding and the return to Heart and Love.
that the root of Invalidation is the failure to see our inherent perfection and Authentic Self.
that the time of Light and re-birth remains ahead of us.
that we bring that world to possibility by reversing the legacy of Invalidation.
that this reversal arouses Authentic Compassion and Clear Seeing.
that Authentic Being arises first in our own lives and only then arises in the whole world as the light of our collective Authentic Selves.

Dance with the Hummingbird

Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine. Begin by exhaling as much air as possible from your lungs before taking in a deep, slow breath through your nose, refilling your lungs. On your next exhalation, make a soft humming sound like a bee. When you run out of breath, take another deep inhalation, continuing the humming sound as you exhale. Begin with a few minutes practice, working up to 10-15 minutes at a time. When you have finished your humming breath practice, lie down and relax for a few minutes.

 

Dance is a surrender of the small self to the greater mystery.

Painting by Julia Watkins (and thanks to Nicole Gruel)

My body supports me in living a creative and happy life.
I love every part of my body, every cell is filled with energy and vitality.
I have all that I need.
...

I am safe.
I belong.

Following the Way

Verse 23 of the Tao Te Ching

To talk little is natural:

Fierce winds do not blow all morning;

a downpour of rain does not last all day.

Who does this? Heaven and earth.

But these are exaggerated, forced effects,

and that is why they cannot be sustained.

If heaven and earth cannot sustain a forced action,

how much less is man able to do?

Those who follow the Way

become one with the Way.

Those who follow goodness

Become one with goodness.

Those who stray from the Way and goodness

become one with failure.

If you conform to the Way

its powers flow through you.

Your actions become those of nature,

your ways those of heaven.

Open yourself to the Tao

and trust your natural responses…

Then everything will fall into place.

Lao-tzu
Lao-tzu urges us to follow the Way and to follow goodness. How true is it that those who follow goodness become goodness!! Its simple, you are what you do, you follow negativity, negative will come, you are disrespectful, disrespect will come to you, you are self-centered, and you will be all by yourself. Life will always give back what you give to it. Living as nature does is how we are supposed to live. When troubles come bend not break, for after the storm you will be standing tall once again. Nature moves along naturally nothing is forced every action is as it is supposed to be. Every reaction is in line with the Way. I think conforming to the Way is probably one of the hardest steps. First when I see the word conform or what have you I immediately feel the urge to do the complete opposite. If we live as nature does, if we flow like a river, listen more and talk less the power of the Way flows through us and with us. When our actions are one with nature we are living a Tao centered life, and our ways transform into the ways of heaven.

Overview

Your Present Hexagram

Overview is a time for composure and contemplation. As a result of profound introspection, a hidden force reveals itself, and may influence others without their being aware of it. Do not underestimate the power of such a subtle force. Like the wind blowing across the treetops, its presence is perceived through the effect it has on everything it touches.

Shallow wells rarely strike water and shallow minds often come up empty. The ability to keep still and simply observe deepens resolve and attracts good fortune. Discern the difference between what is deep and what is surface within yourself — and you will be able to distinguish between the two in the world as well.

During a period between events, the practice of stillness with awareness is fruitful. Only by observing and absorbing the true nature of things — by apprehending the rhythms and cycles that guide all creation — can we discover the laws that apply to our own individual lives. Examine yourself and the overall situation — not just with the thought of discovering truth, but with the vision of concentrating your personal power.

Brunch Buffet today

A good turnout for the Brunch Buffet that I do every third Sunday of the month.

Plus this morning sunrise I never get tired of the view...