This is a "we" thing

After a long and lovely conversation with a dear friend this morning, I am reminded that when we are in distress our instinct is to often isolate ourselves. What is the story we are telling ourselves? That we can do it alone? That we don't want to burden anyone else? That we think if someone else saw our scary bits, they might not love us still? None of these are rational thoughts, and yet, they are all real thoughts. No matter the reason, isolation is not the answer. Whether we isolate our emotional or physical pain, or of we insulate ourselves from the world and try to do it all on our own, we are suffering unnecessarily. There is no need to suffer alone. There is no need to suffer period. Actually, sharing our "burden" somehow makes it lighter. Somehow, just telling a friend, or loved one what is going on for us, what is happening in our heart, that can be the beginning of making sense of the situation, and the beginning of the healing. Even if the response from the friend or loved one is not a match, there is information for us there. As we put their responses through our own discernment, we are exercising our inner voice. Which helps us to further navigate though our life. We are also using a different part of our brain to talk about or write about the situation, which can assist us further in separating ourselves from the pain, and begin to move towards healing.

We are social creatures, and as such, we are meant to do this life thing together. The further I go the more I treasure those around me. The more aware I am of the blessings of dear friends and family. To love and be loved. That is at the core of all of our experiential wounding. We all need love. So as you go through a challenge, remember to call upon a friend, to be present to yourself as you go through your process, and you will give the gift of growing and evolving yourself, (for yourself and the planet) as well as allowing someone else to be there for you. They get the opportunity to love and support you, which is a gift indeed. If you see a loved one in distress, gently remind them that you are here for them, if they need you.

As we are present with ourselves and one another, remember to be present in love. To leave judgement at the door, and just love this other human through their very human experience of pain. Your job may be to just bear witness, or to give a hug. You may not need to say anything, but the right words will follow, if they are needed.

Lastly, pray. Remember, this is a We thing. Whenever two or more of us come together, we are in the presence of The Great Mystery. There is all kinds of help available to us, helpers, angels, ancestors, guides, all those beings that are here to assist us all for our highest and best and for the highest and best of future generations. This is part of how "we" do this...together. Now go on and love one another.

With love and blessings, and joy and gratitude!

The Look of Love

What can you do right now, today to improve the world, to help bring world peace, to help heal our earth and her inhabitants? Sounds like a tall order to me, but the answer is small, simple, sweet. I have a simple suggestion. The Look of Love. It was a song in the 1970's, I think it was Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach, I could hear it playing all over our house, by my mother again and again back then. The melody is playing gently in my head right now. I don't know all the words, I just keep hearing, "The Look of Love". That is a gift. When you look at your spouse, your pet, your children, your parents, see them with the eyes of love today. Remember that we are all just doing the very best we can be doing at any given time, warts and all, but beneath it all, the current which runs within all of us is Love. That is the greatetst gift from Source, and it is a gift we can regift! We are equipped with a never ending supply of love. When we look at those we care about with The Look of Love, we are dismissing that they left their socks on the floor, we are ignoring that they left the cupboard door open, we are looking at them with the eyes of love, we are remembering and connecting to the blessing we feel that they are in our lives. The gratitude that they are sharing this journey with you right now. That they are here now. This is not something to take for granted, and yet we do so every single day, again and again. So, make the world a better place, one look at a time today. Take a moment to look at and appreciate the ones you love. The ones who are walking beside you who are sharing this journey during these difficult times. We all need to be seen with the eyes of love, to be reminded of our greatness and to be empowered by it. It is powerful soul food. Do me a favor, do one more thing, when you look in the mirror today, look at yourself with the eyes of love. Don't look at the wrinkles, or slight imperfections, look, really look into your eyes, and love yourself. You are here now for a reason, and I for one am profoundly great-ful that you are here, and that you are aware enough that you are willing to take the next opportunity to try out The Look of Love.

If you can only remember to do this once today, you are improving the world around you.

With Peace in my Soul and Love in my Heart, may you have a blessed day.

Kim

It's Getting Hot in Here

Yes the weather is warm, in much of the United States, and indeed the world, and yes, there is global warming, but that is not what I am referring to, exactly. That is more of a metaphor for what is going on for many of us personally right now. As I look around there are many who are in the mix. Who are feeling like Bugs Bunny being invited over for dinner by the great hunter and his nemesis Elmer Fudd. Bugs thinks he is being invited as a guest, he gets in the nice big warm tub, with carrots to munch on as Elmer is chopping furiously and turning the heat up under his "tub", Bugs begins to feel uncomfortable in the heat, realizing his new friend is not having him over for dinner, but wanting to have him FOR dinner. Of course, Bugs gets away, he always does. Much the same is true of this these times. The heat is getting turned up. In any of those places where we still have shifting and growth to do (in Bugs case, he is too trusting) we are getting motivation to do move, grow evolve, to walk our talk, and to be aligned with our purpose. So keep paying attention. If you are feeling the heat getting turned up, look for the cause. What aspect of you is being brought into alignment with where the rest of your being is residing? Do whatever it is you need to do to get out of the pot, to turn off the stove and walk away from the source of the discomfort.

Just like Bugs, we'll get through this. But here's the thing. Did Bugs get down on himself? Did Bugs beat himself up for trusting Elmer, even as he realized the pickle he was in? Did Bugs begin to doubt his greatness? At any time in the process? NO! Of course not, and neither should we. That merely interferes with our greatness and our ability to get out of the pot! We are here to learn, and if the heat is getting turned up, it is an indicator that here is just one more place we have learning, stretching and growing to do. An area where we are out of alignment with our Divine Purpose. The heat is the refining fire. This is not a time to judge ourselves, this is a time to love ourselves through this. This is probably the greatest challenge as you are moving through these times, if you feel "it getting hot in here", take a deep breath and remember, "What would Bugs Bunny do?" Get the heck out of dodge, and get on with his life. Even as we watched Bugs, did we think he was being stupid? Did we judge him for being trusting? Were we mad at him for being in the pot? No! We were loving him and rooting for him. As we all can be supporting, loving and rooting for ourselves, our friends and loved ones as they move through these sometimes challenging times.

The next step when you can see the heat is getting turned off, when you are seeing your way clear to get out of the pot, is to be thankful! Filled with gratitude for this course correction, and for the gifts it is bringing into your life. To have gratitude for all the blessings which have been showered upon you and which are about to be! This gratitude acts as the grease to make the process move more quickly.

Sending you off, to find a fan, get cooled off and get out of the pot!! With Love and Blessings! Love one another and yourself! Kim

Knowing and knowing

One of the paradoxes on my spiritual path has been knowing. Our lives are our spiritual paths. We can look back and see The Hand of God or the Influence of Angels, or whatever you might call it, at various places in our life path, whether we were actively seeking or not at that time. For me, when I began seeking on my spiritual path, actively consciously trying to pay attention much of this has come in the form of knowing, and Knowing. Certain things I Know with a certainty, it is a truth for me. It may or may not be a truth for anyone else, but it is Knowing for me. For example I Know that I am not alone, and yet I also know I am utterly alone when I am on my path, which no other human being occupies and embodies in exactly the same way I do. Both are true simultaneously, thus another paradox. It is okay for me, both these ideas being true simultaneously.

The paradox I keep coming up against, is what I call knowing and Knowing. I went seeking on my spiritual path so I could know more. So I could understand more fully and therefore perhaps evolve and grow more. I have found, after some time of thinking I was getting good at putting information in and learning and therefore knowing, that the more I know, the less teachable I am. If my knowing cup is filled up, then there is nowhere for new information to come in. I put a cover over my knowing cup. For me the trick is to Know that I really know nothing. Therefore I am teachable in the moment. I don't know much of anything, really. I think of young children, how they learn so readily and naturally, like a sponge ready to soak up all kinds of new interesting information and knowledge. I put this new information through my own discernment, and keep what feels really right and true to me, for me, and then I have to remember I really don't know anything. I really Know very little. That is where the magic happens, when we are in awe and wonder at all that there is before us. When we are open to learning we are like a child, we are joyful and excited and hungry for more and we naturally evolve and grow. When we begin to know everything, we interrupt our natural evolution. So, I Know this, I don't know much!!

What do you know? I would love to hear!

Where do I go from here?

Many of us have found ourselves seeking, asking, wondering, "Where do I go from here?" "How do I get there?" "When will I be there?" The answer is easy, you just keep going forward. You keep waking up each day, taking a moment to be "great"ful for the beautiful day, even if it doesn't look like it, at first, it is always another beautiful day in paradise. You move forward into the day, doing what is in front of you, and you make choices. You make choices to be happy or not, to be content or miserable, to learn and grow or not, countless times each day. You make choices to love the people who are around you or not. It really is that simple. You make these choices on such a small insignificant level each and every day that you are not even aware that you have made the choices. You decide if you are going to be annoyed by the snoring husband in the bed beside you (or wife) or to wake up, realize what has woken you up, and be filled with gratitude that you have a spouse sleeping beside you, and that any noise they are making pretty much ensures they are still alive and well. You can reach over and gently rub their shoulder to ease them into a lighter awareness, from which they will most often change positions, and stop snoring and you can be present to the awe that filled you when you first slept beside that person. The joy you would wake up to, being lucky enough to be in their presence even as they sleep. In these ways, and in so many other subtle ways throughout the day and night, we make choices. We chose how we are going to experience life, and therefore we chose our life. If you are making consciously aware choices at each and every turn, as often as you can, you will find each day will unfold as an adventure of how the world will rise up to meet you today. The more you are paying attention, the more opportunities to shift areas which you didn't even realize were "up" for awareness change, and thus reality change. In this way, we grow a little more peace in our hearts each day. The more we grow the more it shows, the more we share and this is how "we" do this, improving the world, one heart at a time. This is truly how peace will be spread on our planet, one heart at a time.

So the answer to those questions, "Where do I go from here?", you just keep going ahead each day, making the best choices and decisions you can on any given day, in any given situation, and you will find you are moving, making progress and are on your way to where you are meant to go, and that is how you get there, just one step at a time, one heart decision at a time, one loving look at your children, friends, loved-ones at a time. And when will you get there? Well, the answer is a paradox of sorts. On one hand you are already there. You have already arrived, and yet on the other, it is about the journey we are on and not about the destination we are headed to. After all, I figure once I get to where I am really meant to be going, I will be Home, and this journey will be done, so I am not in a hurry at all to find out how it ends.

Blessings to you, it's another beautiful day in paradise!

Love and Joy Vibration

Okay, so I am thinking if you have found this blog, you are likely already in the love, joy vibration. That's great, living here has its own benefits and rewards. Not living in drama, trauma and stress being the biggies to me. That said, it is not without challenges. One which seems to be coming up for many people right now, would be seeing others we care about who are not yet living in the love, joy vibration. It is difficult to be close to someone and watch their suffering, and not be able to 'guide' them into the energy. Well, the truth of the matter is that while we cannot help anyone make the actual choice to transition into the love, joy vibration, we can assist them, in some ways. The first way is to totally love them, and release them to their own evolution. Give them a gigantic energetic hug and love them up and allow them the dignity of finding their own way. If we try to do this for/with someone on our schedule or agenda, it will not work and can actually prolong the agony for them, as they will resist your overtures into the vibration, as they know they need to do this themselves, or they will lean on you, to assist them, which will actually not benefit either of you. It will keep them more comfortable in the uncomfortable energies of drama, trauma and stress, and also sap you of your energies and keep you from doing the work you are here to do. This is where Divine Free WIll comes in. Each and every soul must chose on their own to come into the new vibration. By some estimations, only 10% of the world's population is existing in the love, joy vibration. That means that we all know quite a few people who are making their way "in the mix".

So we are not better than anyone else who may not have yet found their way into these energies. No rational person would chose to not migrate into the love, joy vibration, it is their woundedness and fears which keep them from making this transition. The second thing we can do to be of assistance to our dear friends and family who are on the fence about coming into this energy is to do our own work, to be the best "me" you can be. Pay attention, do what comes up immediate and situational, and move through whatever comes up to the best of your abilities. Asking for assistance as you go. How does this help those who are not yet in this energy? Well, it is a "we" thing after all, and the better we are at living in this place, the better we love one another and ourselves, the more attractive we are and the energy is and the more accessible we are and the energy is, prompting friends and family members to wonder and sometimes ask, "What is it you are doing differently than me?", "You seem so happy." and "Not much seems to bother you". This is the energetic equivalent to us saying, "Come on in, the water's fine."

This is all well and good, but for some of us, there will be a particular individual, friend or family member who we will find we have a difficult time releasing to their own evolution. This happens when we are especially bound with that person, and it feels as though we may have agreed to assist one another into these energies in some way, shape or form, which most of us are not conscious of, but we are conscious of the feeling of leaving someone behind, or letting them down. In these cases, it is especially important that we are able to love, love, love the person, clearly letting them know we are there for them, because they may come along any day now, and then of course, release them. Sometimes they are resisting us and our own well intended energies to assist them, which is exactly what is blocking their ability to see the forest right in front of them. In this way, we can be of the most assistance by getting out of our own way, and their way as well.

So what are the keys to the kingdom? Love, Love, Love. Wow! The Beatles had it right all those years ago! :)

I invite you to share with me any stories you have of finding your way into the love, joy vibration, and or bearing witness to other's doing the same, or of course the experience of standing on the sidelines as a dear soldier finds his or her own way through the drama, trauma and stress.

Sending you Love and Blessings, Dear Ones as you make your way through the energies!

Love yourself, love one another

One of the most important aspects of my spiritual journey is the other people in my life. They are the family and friends I surround myself with on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, those are the dear ones which enrich my life tremendously, and together we enhance the journey for one another. I cherish the times I get to spend with these special people. Equally important are the ones that I have difficulty with. Those friends and family which remind me of the areas I am still working on, the friends and family I find myself challenged by interacting with. I have found for myself, many of those relationships in the past were unbalanced, and my lack of personal boundaries allowed for people in my life who were not for my highest and best, and when I began to set clear, healthy boundaries, many relationships began to shift. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong for so many years with many of my friendships falling apart, and ending in disaster. I felt responsible and it hurt, badly. I couldn't see what I was doing wrong. I began to ask about it in prayer, and in person with others. It took some time, and a number of helpful assistants, seen and unseen to reveal that the problem was all about me, but not in the way I was thinking. Instead of being nicer, I needed to have stronger boundaries. Instead of doing more for others, I needed to be sure my friendships were in balance, and that we were both getting needs met by the time we spend together, not just one of us. In short, I knew I could do better at the friendship thing, I just didn't know how, and defining my boundaries has allowed me to do just that. For me this is friendship 101, love yourself, set healthy boundaries, to take care of yourself, thereby loving one another. Don't expect yourself to do more for someone else than you would ask for in return. If someone needs you, and the relationship is in balance, of course you are of assistance. Of course you help a friend or family member out. If someone is in need all the time, that is a different story, they may have strong needs, but it is not something our friendship can meet the needs for. In order to love them, I have to release them to their own evolution. To assist them may just be propping them up, and prolonging the agony and the inevitable journey they are due to go on for their own personal growth. We can actually hurt others, when we are "helping others"... can you say co-dependence anyone? So, defining my own boundaries has allowed me to be a more balanced person, a better partner to my husband, a better mother to my grown kids, a better daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, facilitator, whatever. All my roles and relationships were affected by the lack of boundaries on my part. Now I am able to enjoy a richness of relationship which is unparalleled in my life previously. Each relationship gets richer and deeper as time goes on. I have freed myself of time wasting relationships with people and groups, no matter how well meaning I was or they were, if they are out of balance, they are out of my immediate sphere. Oddly, they are not missed, and the rewards are great. We all have difficulities in our lives. We are here to learn and grow. I have found the more work I do, the bigger the rewards. So, love yourself, love one another, love freely and love often.

What have been your biggest lessons in relationships? Who are you currently trying to work on a relationship with, and coming up empty? I would love to hear what you have to say about this or any other topic of interest in your life, or on your path. This is how "we" do this, together. Right now, I feel like a voice in the void. Bouncing around out there. I know some of you will find me, and together we will all be better for the insights and growth we share!

Namaste,
Kim

Here we go!

Every Blog has to start somewhere, so I am beginning here. I look forward to having this opportunity to share the events which are happening in my world, and hopefully to hear back from some of you about your path.

I am a happily married, 40 something mother of two adult children. I am blessed with a loving family and a circle of very special friends, all at varying places upon their path. After all, this is a marathon, not a sprint, and the finish line means we are done for now. So I am content to slow down and enjoy the ride of varying experiences and interesting people. I guess if you have found my blog, it is likely that we might have some things in common, and we might indeed walk side by side for a time. I believe that we are all on our spiritual path together, and those who we are close to and who we interact with on a regular basis can have a great influence upon our path. It is a "we" thing, none of us does this alone, and maybe the most successful among us do this by connecting often with others. We are all doing this together, so I am looking forward to hearing from you and getting to experience some of your stories, all the better to assist us all on our journey.

At this point in my life, our children are beginning to leave the nest, or even to be here less and less, and/or need less of my time and attention on a regular basis, which has freed me up considerably to try this blog on for size now. How will it be sharing together in this space and time? I am not sure, but I am excited to see where it will lead us all.

Much of my spiritual growth has come from observing and being obeserved. I find my children are very good at holding me accountable, to be sure that I am walking in integrity, that my actions match my words. They have been some of my best teachers. I have found that I prefer to learn gently and have nice, loving experiences (don't we all?), but I have found that life is sometimes messy and is also about learning what not to do, and how to proceed even in the face of challenges. We may all be spiritual beings having a human experience, but I am here and now human, and by choice learning and growing as I go, as I hope each of you is as well.

I work with Indigo's (if you have questions about Indigo's let me know, this might be an interesting topic for another posting) and I seem to attract people who are on their spiritual path and would like some assistance along the way. I don't know if identifying a person as an Indigo is helpful or not, although many of us have some similar attributes, and it is often helpful for us to see ourselves in one another, and thus learn more about ourselves. I am interested in being of assistance to others on their path, as well as paying attention along my own. The rewards for paying attention have been great, so far. I find more peace in my heart, and joy in my life. The further I go the less drama, trauma and stress present themselves. When they do, I find myself looking inside, rather than out, to see what is happening within me that this event or person is getting my attention so strongly. I do not always figure the situation out, but often over time there will be clarity, healing and growth. I admit, I have used a strong editing hand in my life. I would say I have learned a great deal about setting healthy boundaries, which is a must on any spiritual path. We have a limited amount of time, attention and energy in any given day, and ultimately in each of our lives. It feels important to me to focus upon those who are available (ready, willing and able) to move forward. If there are too many people in your life that are draining you of your energy, that is something which bears looking at. Does that mean that we only surround ourselves with those who give to us? Of couse not!! Otherwise, how would we ever be mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, friends? With each person in our life, there should be a give and a take, and if we are talking about our children or our parents, there will be times when the take WAAAAY out-weighs the "give", unless you realize the "give" is there in the miracle of life. In the miracle of being blessed and honored to be raised by someone, in the miracle of bearing witness to the maturation of a human by being present to parent, in the miracle of sharing life together.. So, this too is a topic for another day, I guess. I am hoping that your comments will assist me to find what is interesting to you, dear readers, so that we may better move along this path together.

It seems to me my spiritual growth happens as I am living my life, being the best I can be on any given day. I go about my day, my "chop wood, carry water", looks more like go to the grocery store and Target, make dinner, do the dishes, pick up after people, and spend time with friends and family. So, does a spiritual life really unfold in a normal, ordinary life? I believe the answer is YES! I am a living example, as are many of my friends and family.

I have tried going to church on a regular basis, when our children were younger, we spend a number of years immersed in a lovely church family. There were many gifts there, and it was a great place for us to be at that time, and it is indeed a great place for many to be. For me, now, I find I have a strong Judeo-Christian background, but I also have a strong spiritual/mystical side, which is undeniable and alive, and as such I have not found an institution which matches my Spiritual Path at this particular time. It feels to me that I am meant to forge ahead, finding my own way, getting information from many different schools of thought and Spiritual Truths. We are each our own highest authority for what is a match for us. I honor each one of you your choice, as I hope each of you will honor mine. I encourage you to bounce experiences against your own discernment, your own inner knowing, and keep what feels right, and release those things which are not a match for you. I do not pretend to know anything, other that what feels right to me at this particular time on my path. I can guarantee one thing, much of what make sense to me today will likely change. As uncomfortable as that is to me, change is a healthy part of a spiritual path, releasing my attachment to "knowing" anything. If I think I know something, it is a reminder that I have more to learn in that area. So, I will do my best to have an open mind and heart and to proceed by releasing judgment as it comes up and moving towards wholeness and healing, and sharing with you, my experiences along the way. So for now, this is my first reflection from my path, hopefully in a long line of many to follow. This is one interesting journey.