After the Storm

The very fact that I can write my blog this week, send it off to my volunteer proofreader/editor and then out to all of you is evidence that Hurricane Sandy did not have the effect on our area as predicted. We prepared for the worst, probably not as well as we could have, but we took precautions. We had a few leaks in the roof that we’ll address soon, and I got to use the shop vac in the cellar more than once. But other than the fact that our satellite lost the HD channels and we had to analog (gasp!), that was about the extent of our hardships. Not even a gap in electric service during the whole thing.

How drastically different than our friends and neighbors less than an hour away! The pictures of the east coast are devastating and those we’ve heard from who are inland, but closer to the Atlantic than we, are still without power in many cases, if they even have a home in which to have power. So many must rebuild and regroup, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Humans seem to like to mark events – birthdays, anniversaries and the beginning of the New Year to name a few. Tonight is Halloween, the scariest night of the year for the kids. October 31^st is also the pagan holiday of Samhain. It marks the end the year on the calendar of the Old Religion and the beginning of a new cycle. It is the perfect time for us to let go of the past, in particular the past few days, and move forward into the future.

We don’t need disasters to help us get rid of things or special days to force us to appreciate our blessings. We can start every day of our lives with thanks for a new day, knowing that it will be the best ever. We can go through the day expressing our love for God and our planet by taking care of one another and the Earth.  Every night before we close our eyes we can let go of the hurts of the day, forgive ourselves and others, and give thanks once more for the love in our life.

Sounds like too much “pink-cloud metaphysics?” Sounds too good to be true? I hope not. It sure beats being Eeyore, running around with our tail falling off. Our lives are going to be what we make of them. Believe that or not. I choose to believe it. I choose to believe that all the wonderful things I expect to happen are “good enough to be true.” Join me.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

Empowered Forgiveness

Forgive me for no blog or message last week, but with the Unity of Harrisburg 30^th Anniversary it was one of several things that just didn’t get done. Then this week catch up was more than I expected. Knowing, however, that everything before “but” is B.S., let me just leave it at “I’m sorry” with no further explanation!

Last week, Daily Om (http://dailyom.com) published the thoughts of Madisyn Taylor. Taylor brings up a very interesting angle on accepting an apology from someone:  More often than not we say, “It’s alright,” or “It’s okay,” and by saying this we are allowing, accepting, and giving permission for the behavior to happen again. When we say “thank you” or “I accept your apology,” we are forced to sit in our feelings rather than ignore them.

Many of us, females particularly, have been told to put up and shut up throughout our lives. If our sexual orientation, skin color or cultural background is different than the norm in which we live just surviving can be a struggle. We can become less interested in being fully-expressed and more satisfied with not having conflict.

This ingrained belief system then shows up when someone says, “I’m sorry.” We can feel like we didn’t have the right to be hurt or upset. Yes, I know all the metaphysical psychobabble about how we partnered with the other person to create the situation and blaah, blaah, blaah. We have the right to expect integrity from others and the right to make decisions so that unpleasant situations do not repeat. Being kind does not require us to become a spiritual doormat.

Accepting an apology with grace puts “an end to this karmic chain,” according to Taylor. It allows us to acknowledge to the other person that we truly forgive them and at the same time recognizing the emotions we may have covered up because of what happened.

The next time someone apologies to you, be aware of how you respond. As Taylor says, “…often a simple ‘thank you’ is enough.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

We Are One

One of the foundation principles I teach is the oneness of all creation. Political commentary, particularly during a presidential election year, seems to be the opposite of that concept. In the midst of close political races some religions are crossing the line between church and state. This action perpetuates rifts between spiritual communities.

I recently read the following poem in an email from Rev. Dr. Peggy Price, which I feel puts the current situation into perspective:

The moment you stand up and claim your divinity,

Christ is reborn within your heart,

Buddha rejoices,

Mohammed dances upon the mountaintop,

Lao Tzu winks approvingly

And the Promise of the Tree of Life is Fulfilled.

The “our way is THE way” cry will continue to divide the human race, making planetary unification impossible. Acceptance of the ways and rights of others does not need to be approval. Acceptance does, however, mean living among one another with respect, honor and love. Those principles are central to all major religions and spiritual paths, yet we are seeing less and less evidence of such in the news media.

When we recognize our own Divinity and refuse to blame anyone for our circumstances we move closer to seeing the Divinity in others. In a society that demands accountability perhaps we might each take more personal responsibility in our own lives and happiness, and release the need to worry about what entitlements are being protested about from others.

I am proud to be a member of two major spiritual communities, both of which teach a philosophy of life applicable to people of all faiths and religions. I am equally proud that we do not require adherence to our beliefs to benefit from the teachings in which we believe. Our way is our way, it is a way, but it is not the way.

Be kind this week to everyone with whom you come in contact. Perhaps the person’s belief that is most diametrically opposed to ours is the one from which we can reap the most lasting benefit, if only we are willing to open our minds to the possibility of acceptance and unity.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

Fall

According to the Gregorian calendar we’ve only been experiencing fall here in the northern hemisphere for less than two weeks – since the autumnal equinox on September 22. Did the cooler weather and changing leaves sneak up on you again?

Perhaps that’s because Mother Earth has had this all in preparation since about August 1. There’s a Celtic celebration at that time (one of the names is Lammas) that is the start of the autumn season. So rather than abruptly downshifting from summer to fall on September 22, Mother has been gearing up for the changes for about six weeks.

We can easily be caught off guard by ignoring the signs all around us. The days didn’t suddenly turn cooler on September 22; there’s been a slight trending in that direction. All the leaves didn’t just begin to lose their leaves; some started over a month ago.

We’ve been noticing the small outdoor residents (rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks) on our farmette stashing away goodies for the winter or for when they come out of hibernation in the spring. Logistically I haven’t a clue where the spring flowers will show up since the squirrels are re-decorating the gardens. Instinctually, however, they are planning ahead.

That’s not always something we humans are so stellar about doing. We notice a pound or two, but still go for the extra scoop of ice cream. We stay silent when someone with whom we work discriminates against another or tells an off-color joke, yet decry the atrocities of Darfur as being so terrible. We wish so-and-so would do such-and-such, but while we’re judging others find we are oblivious to our own character defects.

So it seems the gist of this week’s blog is about awareness and taking action to better our lives. If we are living mindful lives we will take time to be consciously aware of our surroundings – not seeing what we want to see, but what truly is. Then we can take the next step to changing what we feel we want to change.

Enjoy the cooler weather of fall if you are in our neck of the woods. Remembering that since the Celtic season of autumn began August 1 that puts the beginning of winter (or Yule) on November 1. Your holiday shopping is done, right?

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

"You Really Should..."

Actually, by the time you get through reading the blog this week I hope you’ll see “you really shouldn’t!” I’m not one to “should” (ahem) on others. I can tell you without reservation that I’m re-discovering enough of my own character defects through a year-long course I’m taking that I really don’t have time to worry about what you should be doing, fixing, stopping or starting.

It is usually with good intentions when someone tells us we should be doing this or that. We often feel such compassion when we see others struggling, particularly if the situation is similar or seemingly identical to something we’ve worked through in the past. We may decide the solution that worked for us is a ready-made template which our friend should use to solve his or her dilemma.

That’s not a great idea. First of all, a little struggle can be a good thing because we are rewarded with great satisfaction when we solve the problem or work through the situation. Second, no situation is identical, so what worked for us may not be applicable at all to them. As loving supporters we can be there to coach our friends along as they work through their own issues. Asking how we can support a friend is usually more effective than offering an unsolicited litany of suggestions of what they should be doing.

It’s so much easier to see the solution to someone else’s problems, is it not? Yet, our superficial assessment of their situation may not take into consideration all the events and actions that led up to the current problem. It also brings to mind the scripture that suggests we take the rafter out of our own eye before extracting the splinter from our brother or sister.

The next time you’re tempted to tell someone what they should or shouldn’t be doing, be willing to stop, take a breath and know the Truth about them. That Truth is that they are Divine Spirit in human form, infinitely capable of changing whatever their consciousness got them into. Then ask how you can support them with compassion and empathy.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

How Do You Call It?

Many people are amazed at the twist, spin and interpretation of recent events impacting the upcoming presidential elections here in the States. The media claims to report the facts, but often the stories are slanted at best and biased at worst.

Political campaigns are a wonderful example of how we form new ideas or hold onto old beliefs in spite of the evidence. People want to believe the good reports about their favorite candidate, but disregard the negative stories as campaign politics. How is that the same in our daily lives?

The Principles of New Thought teach us to decide how we want to experience life. We can allow our past belief system to stop us or we can chart a new course based on what works for us. Sports analogies are not my strong suit, but I found a story recently that speaks to this.

A young umpire was calling his first game and proudly told another umpire, “I call it as it is.” A more experienced umpire chuckled and said, “I call it as I see it.” The oldest, most senior of the umpires was walking by, stopped and looked at them shaking his head. He said, “You both got it wrong. It ain’t nuthin’ till I call it.”

Are you getting the flu, or did you just enjoy a good sneeze? Have you been devastated financially or has the stock market just dipped? Does your spouse no longer love you because s/he forgot to get you a card on a special day?

No one gets to “call it” for us. We have that privilege, but it comes with responsibility. For how we call it determines what we experience. Choose wisely!

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

Do Your Best

I often say in guided meditations that no matter what the situation may look like at the time, everyone was doing the best they could with what they had to work with. We can certainly “Monday Morning Quarterback” any situation, but what’s the point?

Reviewing past situations with the intention to do even better next time, or to avoid the same pitfalls, is exercising wisdom. If, however, our intention is to bitch about what “they” should have or could have done, particularly when we chose not to be part of the process, then there’s really no point in regurgitating the episode. Who needs the drama?

I was criticized today for not supporting something I made clear some time ago I would not be able to fully support. I asked the person, “So basically you feel I failed you when I told you I wouldn’t be able to support you and then didn’t?” Seriously? I get that the person needed a lot more help than was available and in spite of it did an amazing job. I also get that I can only do as much as I’m capable of doing, even if someone thought I should be doing more than was possible.

Of course, this means I disappointed someone. I hate that. You can’t be a successful leader and expect to please everyone – it ain’t happening. If you’re in a leadership position trying to do that I strongly suggest you reconsider your career choice.

But to say I wasn’t pained by the disappointment I heard today would be untrue. I was pained quite deeply because I work so hard to make sure that everyone in my life is supported. Then I remembered that I did exactly what I said I would do. That’s integrity. It may not be what was desired of me, but I followed through, even if that follow through was less than was desired by others.

I’m blogging about this because if I’m upset by this after all the spiritual and inner work I’ve done over the past 25 year plus then perhaps you can see something in your life to which you can relate. We aren’t here to please each other. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t go out of my way to tick people off. But if we are going to live authentic lives then someone is going to be upset with us because we aren’t playing by their rules.

Today was my day to disappoint someone. I feel that person’s pain. I also know that we’ll both live. As my friend, Peggy, says, “It’s just one piddily-ass day. Get over it.”

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry