Yes

 

A colleague of mine shared this poem with me last week. I love William Stafford. Once when asked how he was able to produce so much poetry (he wrote at least a poem a day for the last 20 years of his life), he answered, 

"I have very low standards." We can do amazing things when we give up the idea of perfection, 

which means realizing that everything is in fact, that.

Yes

It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could, you know. That's why we wake
and look out – no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.

 - William Stafford

Today, I say "yes" to whatever is. This moment. This life. This love. This now.

Pointsettia heart courtesy of the Safeway floral department in Ballard, WA. 

Thanks for your heart eye, Rob. :)

 

 

News Flash: What's Your Story?

Ice storm covers our Dogwood tree with a layer of crystal

Stories make the news. Usually bad or painful stories. Painful things happen in our world every day.

And so do beautiful, loving, and exquisite things. Every day, people love. They radiate joy. They create beauty. They be the infinite beauty that they are. But being love isn't much of a story, is it? And even the stories we hear on the news of something inspirational or uplifting often are framed by the struggle that made them stand out: the person who gives the dying child their wish of meeting a famous sports figure, the anonymous giver who delivers presents to a poor family, the gentle soul who rescues abused animals.

What if we were captivated by the incredible power of love for love's sake, love that just IS? No story, no contrast to what is "wrong," just the infinite presence of love? It's not much of a headline draw, is it? "Gertrude drove to work radiating peace and love." "As Neil sat at his office desk, he sent thoughts of love and support to all of his co-workers." "Sarah embodied the presence of infinite love today." "Sam's playful joy made everyone smile and giggle for hours."

Doesn't it sound good? "Ellen radiated infinite space and freedom from her heart and the world was transformed." "A ribbon of crystalline light emanated from him, lifting everyone in his presence into a sense of peace and well-being." "All the world took a breath of love together - breathed it in, became it, and conflict ceased. Everyone looked around, a little dazed, and wondered what the fuss had been all about."

In such a world, we'd easily lose interest in painful stories, because we simply wouldn't see them any more. They vaporized in the presence of so much love. Nothing happened, no story to report, no dramatic upheaval. Love, peace, joy and beauty just finally came into full focus and nothing else could stand.

On Awakening

The heart of you is the heart of everything.

In the Christian tradition, this would be the Word, in Buddhism, Pure Awareness, outside of tradition, Oneness. And as Source has manifest into so many expressions, here on earth we have this experience of the fruit on one side of the tree looking at the fruit on the other side and thinking it is something other than itself. So we have the experience of separation, or the perception of separation.

But as we allow ourselves to experience Pure Awareness, to be the power that animates the entire body instead of thinking we are parts of it, we no longer experience the separation. We have perspective, but not separation.

And this is what I got today! At this level, my experience of "Christine" is the same as my experience of anyone else. Yes, my brain, body, senses, experiences, are coming through as "Christine," but my awareness is behind that, before that, just as my awareness of looking at another is not within them, either. I have the same vantage point whether I am looking at "me" or "another." Awareness looks at itself! I am not "Christine" any more than I am "you." But I am all of that.

This illuminates the experience of separation within the "self," where separation begins. Because from this persepctive, that of pure awareness, there is no judgment or opinion about the experience "I" am having, just as I have no judgment about the experience "others" are having. There is no separation into the preferred or non-preferred experience, the like or not like, just the awareness. Which completely erases struggle. There is only awareness and flow.

So the idea of "wholeness" within the self, i.e. harmony or integration, ceases to exist and "wholeness" becomes the awareness that observes self and everyone else, and which sees "self" merely as one expression, one that we are intimately connected to through sensation, emotion, thought and experience, but still which is just another expression like every other one.

SO grateful for the divine gift of this awareness today, which as all truth does, came not through thought or pondering, but just dropped in as knowing. Grace.

Infinite love to you, from my infinity to yours. Funny, huh? As if infinity could be anything other than itself!

And P.S. - just how did that little heart get on the end of that leaf up there? Hmmm....

Your Inner Guru

A master teacher or guru is one who lives the art of receiving and non-resistance. It isn't necessary to know things, or to be learned or wise. We are all gurus. All that is needed is to get out of the way so that Source itself moves through. The wisdom of the cosmos is only ever a breath away from a clear and open heart.

This heart brought to you from the Oregon wine country, grounds of Dundee Manor.

I love you

As a friend of mine says, there is only One of us. Many expressions of that One, but there is only One, and we are All That.

Do something today that you love, not because you should, or because it's good, or because someone needs it from you, or because it's right or noble or required. Just because you love it, and you can, and it feels good to do it. Sometimes it's as simple as eating popcorn. I love popcorn! And I love walking slowly from here to there, noticing the leaves on trees, feeling the love of their Be-ing, seeing light and shadow, just noticing. I did that today. And then I ate popcorn. :)

Love you. When you love you, you love the entire world. Because there's only One of us, remember? I love you. And I love me. And that's the same thing. Isn't it wonderful?

Supermoon hearts

Moonplay! The energy of this supermoon has been intense - challenging and intoxicating and powerful all in one.  Have you felt some challenges in your bodies the last few days? Whoa! Mine has taken me for a crazy ride! Or maybe you've experienced a sense of emotional overwhelm, either from challenges piling up or perhaps just the sheer and stunning beauty of things. A lot is moving, for sure! Moving and waving and spinning and expanding. The energy of Life, Love, God, YOU. Breathe. Surrender. Let go. It's only the holding on that hurts.

The hearts in these photos require a bit of "I spy." They're not so obvious but kind of fun and playful to spot. The last one was the result a sweetly placed lens flare - thank you brilliant moonlight for lighting up the love!

The energies of this portal in time remind me to surrender to flow -  the flow of grace and the eternal, infinite opening of here and now.  Love to you, my beautiful, celestial friends.

Hubble Brain

ANTs: Automatic Negative Thoughts (Daniel Amen's term), that run around our world – 

in the air, in the media, in our systems.

IB: Infinite Being, i.e. what you are – eternal, light-filled, peaceful, loving, 

and all-knowing through connection to the One that is All.

YB: Your Brain, a highly tuned information receiver and processor, as well as inventor/creator. 

YB can run the ANT or IB channel any time you choose.

Our brains are like giant, high-powered telescopes/processors that receive information as well as project it out into the world. They are the interface between us and our reality. And we get to choose where we point them. We can point them down at the ground where the ANTs are, or we can turn them upward into our hearts, toward the All, where they receive the most amazing and interesting information about everything going on at all levels of Be-ingness.

Ants are fine. Earthly ants are actually amazingly intelligent, resourceful, and communal, but a bit of observation shows the ANTs of our brains to be tricky, using shifty slights of hand to point us into endless distractions of fear, worry, and separation. It's ok if you find yourself spending time with the ANTs. Those thoughts are only there to remind us to look toward who we really are. And they’ll keep showing up until we always remember. Just softly tune your mind the other way. After a while, when it sees more and more of the amazing universe it can play in, the ANTs just don't seem that interesting any more.

So why not tip your Hubble up to the experience of the real you, where you are joyful and free and flying around with angels and light-beings and the magic of stardust? It’s where the love is! It’s where you are. And it’s actually who you are. Want to live at home? Me, too! :) And there's a great bonus! ANTs are actually a lot friendlier when we view them from the comfort of our real home, like watching a movie that we know is just pretend…

and this is not my photo, credited to Suara, but it just came across my facebook feed and I laughed out loud...

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Not only is there a light at the end of the tunnel, the tunnel is actually made of light. All is One, just varying shades along the spectrum of the same God energy.

We judge what we don't like or what causes pain as bad or wrong, and what gives us pleasure or agrees with our moral sense as right or good. Dark tunnel. Light. But in the land of God, there is just Is - the darkness of the tunnel, the light at the end, and everything in between. Without the judgments of our minds, we lose the "right" or "wrong," and see it's just pretty dang interesting! Then we find our tunnel becomes like a big slinky toy we can play with at will. Amazing.

Love you, whether you be tunneling or blazing or blissing.

Bee Love

I bee you, you bee me - infinite divinity!

Heart of Creation

 

OK, this is not for the faint of heart! But isn't it beautiful? 

Moments after birth I say, "Natalie! There's a heart in your placenta! Can I take it's picture?" "Oh sure! A lot of people do placenta photography."

Placenta photography. Another one of the many things I never knew about!

This was so beautiful to me. Heart of creation.

Since then we've seen cloud hearts and diaper hearts and the usual environmental hearts. We've discovered Maizee's power bottom, as she's capable of incredible projectile pooping (nothing in her vicinity is off limits). And we've basked in her angelic nature - content, sweet and easy. I love watching her while she sleeps. Her expression changes moment by moment. Anguish, surprise, distaste, delight and bliss tumble one after another across her cute face, an effortless swoop through a waterslide of emotion. With no past to fix anything in place and no thoughts on which to attach meaning, there is only flow. This. Now this. And this and this. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Love is everywhere, in everything. Sometimes it cries, sometimes it smiles. When we know this, we see it. In everything.

Picture posted with permission. :)

Maizee's heart cloud

My sweet granddaughter was born 3 days ago. Maizee Grace Larson, 5 lb 13 oz, b. August 1st at 12:12. I was able to be present at the birth, which was miraculous - the power and perfection of her mom's body bringing her into the world, the support of a brave husband who was suffering from a terrible flu and willed himself with all he had to be present for the moment of delivery (and he was!), the sweet arrival of an earlybird - 24 days before due date - who just couldn't wait to bring her love and light to us. I feel in her a powerful ability to open people's hearts, to heal with her very presence. She humbles me, this huge God-presence in such tiny form! Amazing. Amazing Maizee.

We are all so brave for coming here to this planet, for shining our divine light and presence into the darkness, for choosing love. It's time to know how miraculous we are, to love completely with every breath. Yes. You are a miracle.

This was the sky as I left the hospital the evening of her birth - rays of light coming up and through sweet tufts, with a tiny heart in the middle. I love you, Maizee Grace. The heart of God in me meets the heart of God in you. Grateful and grace-full.

Free Floating

What would it feel like if it never mattered if anyone agreed with your opinions or positions? If every time you voiced a thought or took an action, there was no concern for how it was received, if you just enjoyed having and sharing it because it was yours? Can you imagine being completely uninvested in whether or not someone thought you were smart, relevant, correct, or even kind? WHOA! Freedom!!!

This question came to me as I worked with cutting cords of attachment, i.e. energy exchanges created between ourselves and others. It occurred to me that any investment or need for a return on our interaction (thoughts, words, ideas, positions, etc.) has to do with giving power to another through needing something from them: approval, love, acceptance, safety, position, power, etc. This is completely different than a free exchange of opinions and ideas, which is great. I'm talking about the need for those ideas to be received in a particular light, which is brokering an exchange of power, and which always costs us (and them!). This energy exchange is also rooted in a lack of unconditional love for ourselves. If we fully loved ourselves, would it ever matter if someone agreed with our position? Would we need the power of their approval if we gave it fully to ourselves 100% of the time?

As I played with this, walking along with the dogs and my husband, talking about this and that, I felt my energy patterns come apart. What had moments earlier been a taught string of underlying strategy was now a bunch of loose ends blowing chaotically in the wind. WOW. So much energy running in those cords, in those needs. I felt shaky, like my blood sugar had suddenly plummeted. So I breathed. I grounded myself energetically into the core of the earth and into the vastness of the heavens. I opened to that crazy, unhinging sensation saying, "More. Yes. I'm having this."

As I thought of sharing this with you, I looked through my heart pictures folder (which now numbers nearly 1,400 :) and saw this one from a recent trip to the Little North Fork of the Santiam river. A point of heart light floating in space surrounded by a thousand river jewels, simply being its brilliance amidst the incredible beauty of the rest of the world. I love you.

High and Light

Sweet, light vibrations of mountain love.

and the earthly context - top and lower right are the 2nd picture above, lower left is #3.
Grand Teton National Park

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

Human or Divine? Yes.

This black-tipped shark was in captivity in a pool at the resort where I stayed in Hawaii this past June. They had sea turtles on the grounds, too, and someone informed me that they release the turtles after three months and bring in different ones, so no turtle remains captive too long. I hoped it was the same for the shark. He swam back and forth, back and forth in his small pool, anything but peaceful, and definitely not free.

Sometimes this is how I feel being in a human body. Miraculously, when we incarnate, we take the expansive, eternal, divine energy that we are and confine it to this tiny, limited form, hang out here for a while, and then return to the infinite spaciousness that is our natural state. But this conundrum has been unwinding for me lately -  I realize I have so much resistance to being human! My divine self knows nothing but love, nothing but freedom and joy, and then I come here as a human and do all the things that humans do - strive, struggle, hurt, cause pain... all sorts of constriction that makes no sense to my divine being and that is totally at odds with who we are. Or is it? If it's all the One, if we are that One, then we include all things. I see that once again I'm experiencing the pain of separation, i.e. duality, which is the name of the game on planet Earth, but which isn't really real since we can never be separated from ourselves, our divinity, or each other. What a weird game, though!

So lately I'm feeling into forgiving myself for being human. At least, that's my human perspective.  My divine self gently shakes its head in the knowing that there is nothing to forgive.  It stands with infinite patience waiting for me to recognize I still am and always have been this infinite God energy. There is no way I or anything anywhere can be anything else. And in the acceptance of the strangely broken-but-not-broken, conflicted-but-perfect human that I am, I begin to feel a joy in being in this body, in having these experiences, in riding the wave of this amazing adventure. Sometimes I may show up as a shark (or someone may be one to me), and that will simply be what is. Sometimes I may be the heart, watching the shark swim by, and that will be what is. And I will let my divinity love on my humanity with the eternity that it is, folding all into the sweet oneness of Is. There is only this One, this God that we all are. Hello, little human, hello, god-self. Hello ego, hello divine knowing. Hello shark, hello divine Heart. Here we are. We are the same.

River Love

So much water play in our lives lately! Yesterday we went whitewater rafting on the Snake river, and every time the brilliant, cold water splashed all over us, I squealed with delight. I guess you know by now I really like mountain water. :) These photos were taken the day before at the river that feeds into Jenny Lake at the base of the Grand Tetons. I always feel so much life in the water itself, just so much beautiful, light vibration beaming out the love of creation. So sharing again! :)

The last one looks to me like a puppy head and a bunny sailing through the current, the bunny holding its heart out front. I'm so grateful every time I let my beautiful heart lead. Don't get me wrong, I love my mind, too, but it really feels like the logistics master while the heart is the universe sailer. So yes, little bunny rabbit, I'm with you!

Water Colors

I love photographing water so much, and the water at Opal Creek is some of my favorite. I didn't know two of these hearts were there when I snapped the shot. I love to  set my camera on sport shoot, point at the water, and just let it fly. When I look at them later it's like opening presents - all the surprises show up and art just unfolds on the page in front of me. Amazing.

The colors in the water of Opal Creek are magical... something about that glacial run-off and snow melt - the beautiful, clear blue-green is just so amazing.  We drank it in all day, so I thought I'd share some of the pristine and powerful vibration with you through these photos. LOVE YOU!!!

Heart Splash

Isn't life amazing?

❤️

Your Opinion Doesn't Matter!

Our minds have constant opinions about everything - call them perspectives, judgments, points of view, whatever you like. The mind reflexively sorts, decides and pronounces. Today after a frustrating visit to one of my husband's physicians (films lost, phone calls not answered, attitude of blame from the doctor, etc. - there's always a story, isn't there?), we decided it was time to receive this particular kind of care elsewhere. As my mind sorted through the morning's events, looking to shore up my decision so I'd feel "right" about it, I found myself weary of the "right" game, which is always a loser. As a friend said recently, "you can be right, or you can be wrong, or you can be free" (thanks, Zach), I knew we were going to switch doctors, so why keep mentally going over the info?

And then I decided to ask myself this question: Does my heart have an opinion about it? And the answer came quickly - a resounding "No!" So funny! My heart only had an awareness, and that awareness helped lead to choice and action, but it had no opinion, judgment, pronouncement, or need to be right. I laughed out loud when I realized my heart never has an opinion, just awareness. Likewise I realized my mind never has awareness, only opinions! So I asked my heart what it knew about this doctor, and again, a clear answer came: I love him. That was all. We wouldn't choose to receive his care any more, but I loved him. And I felt grateful for the amazing gift he had given me through this awareness that my heart never has an opinion. Through him, I was led to understand that my mind can never love unconditionally and that the pure awareness of the heart is the only path to love. Amazing!

I wasn't sure if this photo "qualified" (cute little mind!) as a heart photo, but I bet you can see it. Mostly she captured the spirit of freedom and movement I felt upon tuning into this expansive, playful and grateful heart awareness. Infinite love to you -  in the spacious awareness of your beautiful, boundless hearts.

Order Up!

I've been waiting for this one. You see, a while ago I put in my order for a heart-shaped Queen Anne's Lace flower, so I knew it was only a matter of time. Sometimes the angels just need a little space to rearrange the molecules. :) And once we put in an order, like at a restaurant, there is no need to put it in again and again. Every whisper of a prayer is heard, every thought is  received and met in kind by the universe.

Queen Anne's Lace normally grows in a circular, fireworks pattern. So far I've never seen it in any shape but that.

Here's one: 

That is, until now! A heart find like this is the kind that delights me - the one that isn't supposed to be there, the one that doesn't fit the pattern, that defies expectations and grows into love against all odds. Like the people who always feel like they don't fit, and that they aren't a part of anything, only to discover they are brilliant in their uniqueness, and that they are exactly the gift the world needs.

Today I celebrate the love in you that hasn't been received by the world, and the parts of you that weren't greeted with love. I celebrate the amazing and miraculous gift that is you, the spark of energy without which the world would be much less brilliant (whether the crazy world knows it or not). Thank you for breaking the mold!

In the Flow

Control is a mechanism we use to keep ourselves safe, probably because life has dealt us some pretty nasty surprises. Only how well does it work? If it worked, the world's best (worst?) control freak would have the most blissful, smooth and abundant life. Oops... And then there's the piece about control only being pretend, since it isn't possible. Funny how often we forget that.

Life is flow, and love is flow. Control is a flow inhibitor. So the very mechanism we use to keep ourselves from harm actually prevents us from being in the flow of love, which is where infinite freedom, peace, and safety are found. Kind of amazing, isn't it?

Wishing you sweet, infinite, and adventurous flow today and every day. Here's to a great ride.

Your Brilliant Subconscious, part 2

 

This is our Joe Pie Weed. He lives in our yard and grows every year to about 8 feet tall with frothy purple blossoms at the top. He is about 6 feet across. And.. he's growing Love! :) I just felt like sharing him with you today.

Thinking more about the power of our subconscious to shape the world...see part one if you missed the basic premise. This info is particularly useful for parents and teachers. Once I began noticing the power of how I phrase things, realized I had some changes to make in my teaching. Part of my work at Willamette U is teaching voice lessons and conducting a choir. I found myself saying stuff like "don't take a breath here," or "don't sing flat on this note, altos," or "don't let your tongue go back in your throat," or a myriad of other instructions that, due to the way the subconscious works with images, were in fact encouraging and solidifying the very things I was hoping to help the students avoid. Instead I learned to use phrases like "carry the tone through completely here" or "sing in the center of the pitch" or "keep your tongue forward."

Furthermore, I became increasingly sensitive to the energy of phrases commonly used in music (and life). "Let's nail it this time!" or "Let's kill it!" or "We destroyed that piece," all phrases meant to indicate something positive, but the energy of the phrases is heavier and denser than something like "exquisitely beautiful" or "so full of perfection and power that it rocketed out of the stratosphere!" Granted, intention has an impact, and meaning to "kill" something in a good way may end up feeling good at some level, but all of our subconscious associations with words also have an impact, and as we know, the subconscious is a superpower. It's interesting to me that these common phrases all have an element of violence to them, a pervasive part of our culture. But it also seems optional to resonate with that, even subconsciously - not required!

It might be fun to watch your language patterns sometime, and notice how you speak to your children or students or just people around you. Or yourself. :)

Love to you all, in the infinite awareness that we each are, rockstars of the universe. So glad we're playing here together! 

The Brilliant Power of your Subconscious

   

See only love, hear only love, speak only love.

Our subconscious mind understands and processes in images, much like our dreams. And we can't negate an image. For instance, if I say, "Don't think of the color of your car," (go ahead...try it... ... ...  how did it go?), probably the first thing you did was think of the color of your car. Because your subconscious went with the image of "the color of your car" rather than the verbal instruction of "don't." Neuro-linguistic research shows us that the subconscious will make such a decision up to 7 seconds before the conscious mind even gets a chance. You can't override it, much like a reflex. So "Don't drink and drive" would actually be much better phrased "Only drive sober" (thank you Jo Dunning for this example!). Or instead of saying, "Don't focus on what's wrong in your life," you could go with "Keep your awareness on the presence of Love." Any time we preface an instruction (even if it's an "affirmation") with "don't" or "never" or any other negating word, we're actually reinforcing the very thing we wish to shift. Even saying "I am pain-free" can encourage the subconscious to focus on pain. Look instead for a positive way to phrase the statement, focusing on what you'd like to have (health, comfort, freedom, energy, etc.).

So as I looked at these cute little leaf stem hearts we passed on our dog walk today, instead of "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," I thought "See only love, hear only love, speak only love." Doesn't that feel nice?

Mmmmm.

Love Wave

Whether it comes like a fiery comet from the sky, or soft and cool as whitecaps on a wave, 

LOVE meets my YES.

You?

Cosmic Heart

Your Heart is the Universe.  

You can play and explore forever in its vast, open spaces.
There is always more.

Whatever you're looking for, it is there. 

There is nothing you won't find 

In this endless, eternal, infinite Love that 

You are, that We are, that Is. 

Know your Heart, and you know God.

Being Love

 

Love is what we are. 

 

Not our identity - personality or profession or appearance or family tree. It is our very Be-ing.

 

It isn't what we do, no matter how helpful or good that might be.

 

Love is Being. It is the very core of our Being, our essence. So Love is simply Being who we are. 

Loving is Being who we are. Any discord we feel is when we forget to Be Who We Are.

 

 

Hi Love. I Love You. I See You. I Am You.

Love, Love.