a Place Called HOME

 Stripped... almost naked, I feel exposed. Like a new green shoot in Spring I am experiencing all the elements. Falling... not quite floating, I feel the letting go. Like a leaf in full color I am no longer attached to what used to be. Emerging... practically radiant, I feel the opening. Like the sun that shines indiscriminately I am revealing my deeper, Divine self. Life is Universal! It happens to us and through us. Step back and listen. Spirit is at work here. #meditation #breathwork #quietthechaos #lovelightandhealing #spiritliveswithin #intotheGRAYzone #pause #breathe #engage #aPlaceCalledHOME #theRadicalAcceptanceofALL

  "...anger is often simply the unwillingness to live the full measure of our fears or of our not knowing, in the face of love..." ~ David Whyte FEAR: there are three fundamental fears: 1. the existential fear of dying 2. the cultural fear that we're born into 3. the situational fear of the moment. We all live with fear on some scale and we all face fear differently.  Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Flee.  I think we're all well familiar with these responses in the animal kingdom. It is also a part of our nervous system and how we handle fear when it shows up in our own life. what fears are you aware of in your life? name them. how do you respond to that fear when confronted with it? and at what point does your response shift?  how does fear factor into your life? what percentage of the pie/of the whole do you dedicate to fear? what would it look like to be fearless? describe it. what would change? what wouldn't change but perhaps be approached, differently?   ANGER: ...

  "...the chance to enliven ourselves to the fullest  and  thereby spark an exchange of aliveness  that illuminates the gifts of humanity." ~Mark Nepo How long does one wait within the discomfort of life? Some feel they have no choice, while others are quick to move on. Staying in a place of discomfort stretches us beyond our own limits if we allow ourselves to be there longer than we want. There is a creative wisdom contained within this unknown void; something that speaks to us when we hold a safe space for insecurity and uncertainty to meet.  Sometimes we can do this alone. And other times, we need someone to travel with us.  SAFE SPACE: this is where you rest; a physical or emotional space where you feel nurtured and comforted.  a place where there are no pretenses or boundaries needed.  this is a place I describe as "home". where your Soul feels at rest, where your Heart is held unconditionally, and your Spirit is free to live within its pass...

  "... time isn't a straight line along which we travel,  but a deep dot in which we dwell." ~Sue Monk Kidd Living deeply in one place has not been something I've been able to do... well. I have had more of a "horizontal existence" reaching out to places and people and things unknown to me. New experiences provided a rush of adrenaline that had me making those leaps quite consistently. Pair that with being a 7 on the Enneagram [more about that another time] and FOMO [fear of missing out]; it was quite a shallow life. I equated these experiences with growth outside my comfort zone not realizing that it WAS my comfort zone - avoidance! I was stone hopping experiences as Jumpin' Julia! I was avoiding the deep depths of pain that moving on left behind. Subsequently it didn't allow me to be my most compassionate self with anyone.  "Look at the bright side." "Find the silver lining." "What's the gift in this?" All dishonor...

  "Existence will rush to fill us and overwhelm us  if we don't meet the outer world  with an inner life." ~MarkNepo It is the proverbial making lemonade from lemons. We all experience difficult times personally and collectively but how we prevail... how we write the story into the fabric of our own life is where transformation occurs.  This reflection is more of a challenge for me to write. Am I able to write about isolation and fragmentation and loneliness? Am I ready to write about the darkness that fills me before the light reaches through? Is it the 'right' voice? It is a voice that I've often avoided to remain positive and hopeful, yet this deeper darker voice exists within all of us... especially now. For me, this is the voice I start with and move through to get to a more palatable "other side". Can I do it justice?  Most often when I write I focus on where I end up, not where I start! Once I've traveled my own road of transformation, I e...

  "The MYSTERY of deep living is that we become Life itself." ~MarkNepo I have known myself as a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type of person. I know enough to do "just enough" to get through a job, a conversation, a project... Life! I'm a quick learner who processes information fast and understands my resources for anything I might need to research. It's exciting and fast-paced and, probably, hints a bit at FOMO - fear of missing out! Its allowed me to take in a wide expanse of knowledge for enjoyment.  Recently, I took notice of a local photographer on Instagram that only photographs Holy Hill... well, mostly only.  ONE subject over and over through 4 seasons, morning and evening with either his camera or his drone. Previously I would have dismissed that as boring. Yet during this Pandemic time I've been fascinated with discovering my own "backyard"; digging deep into the richness that surrounds me right here, right where I am present. ...

  Life doesn't add up it OPENS up! ~Mark Nepo My husband and I share a belief about relationships; be a well, not a fence. Imagine a horse in a corral where the boundaries are clearly delineated. It is unable to run to its full potential; always stopped by the parameters setup by the rancher. Whereas a wild horse can run free and knows where to go for hydration.  In a relationship, any relationship[self, others, God], much the same thing can happen. Expectations and judgements and opinions all work to create a limited space within the relationship, thereby limiting its potential. When we carry expectations or get disappointed because of an action or an opinion, we close down that relationship and make it smaller. You may decide to stop engaging that person in outings or conversations or even on social media.  However, when you stay open, you are a well! The ability to set your ego aside, create a space for understanding, then provide an opportunity for communication that...