‘Cuz how can you be sad or mad when the sun shines out your bum?
Take a deep breath, and close your eyes, and find your quiet place
within! Validate your grounded connection to Mother Earth, and let
yourself have a healing in today’s message!
Today’s verse is silly! It’s fun to see life through imaginative
eyes! I have given plenty of messages praising play and joy and their
importance in our evolution and ascension process. Play boosts our
immune system and improves our health, it increases our focus and
productivity, it produces chemical reactions in our brain that heal
our mood and emotions, and it activates different strands of our DNA!
Try healing your life without some amusement and play! No thank you!
Today is our first official celebration in 2015 of our 20th
anniversary as a church and healing school. I spent some time
contemplating how to celebrate our year. New classes? New formats?
Ultimately I realized that what felt best was simply creating some
fun events!
Thoughts about more and better classes felt serious and flat. Creating
new classes is one of our favorite things, but they tend to evolve
according to what people are needing at the moment, and it felt forced
to try and invent new classes. What DID feel good was coming up with
gatherings that have fun, creativity, and connection within our
community as the focus.
So, this year there will be fun monthly events. An open house today,
an animal healing and blessing clinic, improv classes, music and
singing jams, puppet making, games, special healing clinics and more!
They will be held on a Sunday, and are called “Sunday, Funday”! We are
open to suggestions, so let me know if you have an idea for one of
these events!
This new year is one of miracles and dreams coming true, and increased
access to the realm of limitless possibility and creation! It’s a time
to be imaginative, to think outside the box, and consciously choose to
be in tune with divinity and your higher self wisdom!
What do you want to create this year? What do you want to experience
more of? How do you want to feel? You are of Creator, you are a
representation of the Divine. How do you want to express that? We are
each unique, with our own version of divinity! And laughter and play
are an aspect of God!
There is a wonderful poem by Hafiz called “Tripping Over Joy.”
What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?
The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God.
And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move
That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”
Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.
So there is that seriousness that has been so powerfully programmed
into us, the lure of success, the need to fit into a mold, or the
programming that says you need to work hard and don’t enjoy it all so
much. We’ve all experienced that sneaky guilt that arises when we feel
joy and some around us can not. But the saints know, it really does
matter to lighten up, that becoming enlightened is not a somber
process! Light shines out your bum! Yes, it is challenging, but that
is why we find a spiritual path to help us on our way. A spiritual
view of Oneness helps us to see all sides of this world. Instead of
staying stuck in robotic fearful reactions that keep us serially
obsessed, we see the option of tripping over joy, bursting into
laughter and saying, “I Surrender!”
I recently taught class number one of “Loving What Is, From Monsanto
to Kittens.” I knew that title would attract a lot of people who
needed to learn to love kittens. (teehee!) We had a great time, first
writing down things that we judge— from our family, relationships,
jobs, health, society, government or world events. It was a lot of
writing in just 10 minutes! Let’s do the same now, only just visualize
a bubble out in front of you, and let it fill up with what you judge
about the world. Especially the kinds of events and people, that,
once you begin to think about them, the negative and judgmental
thoughts take over and leave room for little else. Breathe, and be
amused if you are judging that you have judgments!
Say hello to this bubble full of judgments and problems. Notice how
it makes your body feel. How does the anxiety, anger, judgement,
despair, etc… affect you physically? How does it affect your
health? How does the energy of the bubble affect your mental body and
thoughts? Are the thoughts that go round and round in your head
enjoyable to you?? Uplifting? How does the bubble affect your
emotions? What is the predominant feeling that these thoughts promote
in your space? Do you feel a little agitated or down? How long would
you like to feel that way? And, when you are stuck in the world of the
negative bubble, how does it affect your sense of connection to God
and Love? If you are like the people in the class, the effects of
being in this bubble did not promote much of anything desired long-
term in any of their etheric levels!
No matter what we don’t like about a person or situation, judging it
never has, and never will change their world! And, you are no longer
in your own space taking care of your own business. You can’t put
your own dreams and desires into action or focus on imagination,
laughter or creating more peace. Instead, you are stuck in angion or
depressed and sending that energy into the world, thus feeding what it
is you don’t like. You are contributing to the problem. Take a deep
breath, and now pop that bubble. Breathe.
Next, create a new bubble in front of you. Fill it with your dreams
and desires for yourself and the world. What do you love? How do you
love to feel? What are you desiring to create? How do you want to be?
What do love to see in the world? What do you believe in spiritually?
What kind of people do you enjoy being with? This bubble represents
your world and this is the world that you CAN heal and shift.
Admire your world, and notice how it feels when you are tending to
this kingdom. When you are living your truth and coming from a healthy
inner balance, how does it make your body feel? What are your
thoughts? How do you feel emotionally? How do you experience your
connection with Divinity and Oneness? Breathe and simply notice. Put a
grounding cord on this bubble, and release any chatter or energies
that discourage or distract you away from this bubble. Release guilt
about having your joy, and any voices that want to make you think it’s
not important. If the controlling negative paradigm of this world
can’t keep you in fear, then the fear that drives the wars and control
games lose their momentum. You are one less person feeding the fear
whenever you are in your world of truth. Breathe, and bring this
bubble of your world inside of you, see it fill you in!
When you are in someone else’s world, you cannot change or fix a
thing. That is why it feels so horrible. Becoming stuck in judgment
is a lonely and isolated place to hang out. Have you noticed that
when you are depressed it can be hard to reach out? Your connection is
so covered over that you can’t believe there is anyone there for you!
We tell ourselves lies that disconnect us from our sense of love and
connection, and it’s a downward spiral from there. We have all been
there and returned many times!
It’s the returning that is key; our ability to notice different
options and choosing what we want to focus on! Taking your attachment
off of the negative thought and onto something better allows the
negative thought to fall away. If I am consumed with thoughts against
greedy people I have some choices. One thing for sure, is my judgment
and obsessive thoughts about them will not help the situation. Perhaps
the judgment is that “People who are greedy with their money don’t
care about anyone but themselves.” I ask myself if being obsessed with
that thought helps anyone. Number one, it doesn’t help me, because
negative thoughts are a detriment physically, mentally, emotionally
and spiritually!
I also notice that the thought I am stuck on is a lie. There is no
way I can know that greedy people don’t care for anyone but
themselves. I also know that logically, that is a ridiculous thought.
I know that they certainly care for some other people!
I can’t change the greedy people, and they certainly aren’t going to
change and heal because I am running a negative tape about them in my
head. I can only wish they would change and wonder what their problem
is.
But knowing that I can’t change their world of greed and can only heal
my own world, I can choose to look at how my personal world is
doing in terms of greed. In Byron Katie’s book “Loving What Is, Four
Questions that Can Change Your Life,” she teaches what is known as’
the turnaround.’ It’s a great version of mirroring and projection when
we find ourselves in judgment.
She has you rewrite the judgmental statement as if it were written
about you. So, my statement would be something like, “When I am
greedy with my money I don’t care about anyone but myself.” Now, I
can heal this perception because it concerns me and my actions in my
kingdom. I can take this statement and see that it’s not true about
me, that I do care about others and I am not greedy. I know that
sometimes I feel greedy with something and fear having less of it, but
it does not define me. I can validate how wonderful it feels to not be
greedy, and strive to live in a balance of giving and receiving that
works for me within my community. I can promote a generous life and
bless everyone’s ability to find that space within themselves. Wow,
that feels so much better than just obsessing about greedy people!
Ultimately, it is you taking charge of your thoughts and world, and
seeing that it’s okay to choose an action or thought simply because it
causes you to feel good! You don’t have to feel guilty about it! It’s
okay to feel more peaceful and joyful, each day, even when, at the
same time, you notice the harsh things happening in the world. It’s
okay to choose to attract love and community into your life because it
feels good. Goodness and love are never-ending and in abundance and
when you choose to be them the vibration resonates around the world!
Hafiz wrote a poem called, “Pulling Out the Chair”
“Pulling out the chair
Beneath your mind
And watching you fall upon God—What else is there For Hafiz to do
That is any fun in this world”
There’s a little slapstick from one of the mystical poets for you! I
love the image of having the chair pulled out from under the
controlling mind and making it let go and fall upon God! To the
enlightened man Hafiz, this is the most helpful and fun thing he can
do for us to assist us on our spiritual path! What can you focus your
mind on that reflects an aspect of God for you? What if the more it
makes you laugh, the better?
My brother, Mark, has an interesting life. In my brother’s chess game
with God, creator made a move that resulted in a big “I surrender” for
him. About five years ago he was in an accident which broke his back
and punctured a lung. He nearly died, but he stuck around. After
surgeries and rehab and lots of failed pain medication programs, he
finds himself basically bed ridden and in chronic pain. He hasn’t
slept more than a few hours at a time since, and he has numerous other
physical issues as a result. His life has physically been narrowed
down to a room, and an occasional slow and painful journey to his
bathroom. From his bed, he can see through large glass doors down to
his pond and see the trees and creatures that come to drink. Through
another window he has bird feeders full of seed and suet. His cats
come in and out of his window, and he watches TV.
I am not going to romanticize his life and say he has found peace with
it all, because he hasn’t. His surrender has been a challenging
journey. He affords me great practice in remembering my spiritual
space of seeing all sides, versus getting pulled into what should
change and be different in his life. If I am stuck in a perception
of Mark’s world that isn’t promoting healing and love within me, then
it certainly isn’t helping him!
Although an invalid, he is the funniest person I know. Within his
hardship, he trips over joy often! Friends and family call and visit
him frequently to share stories and his observations of society and
our world make people laugh and laugh. People call and visit him for
his wisdom, and they seek him out for help on building and repairs
because that is what he did. So if someone gets stuck in a perception
of his world that is depressing and sees only what he can’t do
anymore, they are not seeing what is, and what he can and is doing.
Along with his own personal lessons and processing, he is man of
laughter, wry observations, and nothing, I mean nothing escapes him.
He offers a question for each of us, what is enough, for you, to
appreciate and love about yourself? He offers fun, creativity,
gatherings of people. Is that enough? He has lost the ability to find
self-value in physical work, making money or being the stereotypical
man. And he’s certainly not getting any better looking! So, what makes
you valuable?
Most people can’t see Mark in his wholeness versus just his physical
issues. I am lucky that I can. It’s the whole package that makes him
a miracle, the bitter and the sweet. And seeing that feels a lot
better to me. Can you have the whole package of you, just as you are
in this moment? How about in the world around you?
I will end with one more Hafiz poem! This is called, “Forever Dance.”
I am happy even before I have a reason.
I am full of Light even before the sky
Can greet the sun or the moon.
Dear companions,
We have been in love with God
For so very, very long.
What can Hafiz now do but Forever
Dance!
I know that Hafiz is enjoying our celebration with us today, otherwise
I wouldn’t have been led to use three of his poems. And let’s not
forget the glow worm! As we trip along in joy into this new year,
let’s laugh more and be happy before we even have a reason! And, maybe
the forever dance that Hafiz wants us to do can include some twerking,
with our glowing bums! Twerk it! The sun is shining out from there!
May your year be blessed with more moments of the experience of the
sacredness of you—and when you are stuck, may your mind have the chair
pulled out from under it so you fall gently into the love and
merriment of the Divine! Amen!
