The Interconnectivity Equation!

I often hear inspiring calls inviting us to open ourselves to experiencing the interconnectedness of existence, to be a part of a larger whole. We are invited to turn our attention beyond ourselves, honoring and embracing our role as servants to a greater good. We are encouraged to let go of selfish constraints that trap us in our own little worlds, opening to our true nature which is intrinsically interwoven in a universal fabric of peace and love.

I deeply appreciate these calls as they emerge from a well that resonates with my soul. And when I read them or hear them, I also notice that my forehead makes a wrinkling decline towards my nose, imprinting an expression of confusion and defense that is streaming through my mind.

A little bit about me. I often ?see? patterns visually in my mind?s eye. It?s a special sort of seeing, not made of the focused color, form and substance with which my eyes are accustomed to relating. I experience a flow, rhythm, pattern, or interplay that is incredibly solid and formed as sensations within me? visual sensations. I experience the feeling sensually and identify with it as a visual expression.

Back to the call and a pattern that I sometimes sense.

When I hear these calls (return to unity, be of service) I often experience a flow of energy that looks like an incomplete loop. I feel-see a powerful, dense and radiant surge of life force pouring forth from some source. The surge spreads out into existence as a charged outpouring of good (for lack of a better word). It relates with and connects to a radiant web of offerings of integrity manifesting in the world. The outpouring cycles back around to the original source. Upon re-entry, however, the flow of energy becomes cataclysmic, shaky and rickety in its journey through the source, an individual or group. The channel of receiving and embodying is not as polished and tuned as the channel of offering and giving. I experience the next cycle of this spiraling outpouring of energy as being, from my perspective, less concentrated and powerful than it could be. Its spread is narrow as there are gaps where the offering is not complete because the source from which it emerges is not aligned and integrated, included in the offering.

And then my rational mind kicks in, my eye brows furrow, and a fierce voice that yearns to be integrated into these powerfully inspiring calls sternly begins speaking from within. We, our authentic Self, must be included in this process. In order to do so we must strengthen our capacity to articulately express through our ENTIRE bodies and being this divine calling.

As balanced and integrated beings, we must give as much active energy and attention towards changing ourselves as we give to ?changing the world.? We must honor the change needed in ourselves, the blocks and habits within our own beings that prevent us from seeing clearly and responding to our own personal issues. We must listen to and respond to the personal callings that require us to stretch beyond our comfort zone, beyond the certainty of that which we know and understand, diving into the unknown and scary. When we are fully present in this process, the trails of contraction and fear illuminate for us hidden crevices of our self that are essential to being alive and awake and have been patiently waiting for our attention. As we honor them, include them in our entourage, we open ourselves be being more integrated, aligned, and available as fluid channels through which spiraling cycles of life force may gush through, further charging our offerings of service with vital essence and power.

I recognize that I am a part of a culture which is self-centered, confined and disconnected. It sees itself as incredibly important while not knowing how to take responsibility for its own actions and see beyond the self to include a world of interconnectivity. I also recognize that I am part of a subset of this culture which sees the world of interconnectivity as a ?greater good?, sometimes leaving out the fullness of the world of the Self as an imperative part of the interconnectivity equation.

I pray that we may let go of selfish constraints that trap us in our own little worlds, opening to a living reality of Self-centeredness where we may fully connect into an interwoven experience in which we are of service to and conscious participants living the greatest good.

How do you experience such callings? Do you hear fierce voices that yearn to be integrated? What do they say? Do you ‘see’ with your mind’s eye? What is that like for you? I’m curious!

To Just Be

Inspiring invitation from an anonymous friend

The thought just came to me – to share with you…

The reason I exposed myself
so nakedly
infront of everyone..
was because I feel that
we all
ought to be a lot more naked –
in what and who we really are..
where we really are..
How we feel
What troubles us
What pleases us..
Where we feel our pain
and insecurity
our blocks
our fears

and especially our “weaknesses”

because when we all can do that
then we can be real..
and we can also let go of a lot
of expectatons
about what we think
we ought to be
based upon what we think
others are….

And when others
can see how vulnerable
and how “week” we really are…
and let ourselves
be seen to be..

Then perhaps
They will see that maybe
their managed illusions..
or rather gaurded
truths of themselves might
be relaxed..

And if we could all just relax
and be truthfull
and transparent…

and see that we are just human
I think it would go
along way..
towards ..

Freeing
up
our
Hearts..

and spirits…

I like the truth…
I want to see what is real.
I want to just be..

and you can’t do that..
if you are holding…
something back.

can you?

A Moment . . .

The sun shining on my face as I type arrests my attention. Frozen in the sensation of this warmth, of this divine moment in a cloudy sky in which I am illuminated with light. What a blessing. A spotlight shining on the blessed.

The sun fades… my eyes soften… my breathe takes on a different flavor.

Standing up on a luminous edge I feel comfort and security, knowing and acceptance flowing through me in a streaming trail of included integrity and gracious gravity. Pouring forth before me, tumbling out of my heart (as my heart), flows a gushing current of possibility unfolding, of life arising.

What’s on my experimental/experiential edge? What pushes my comfort zone and challenges me to step into personal tension, to stand with fear and uncertainty, smile at their presence, and continue moving forward into a calling upon the horizon?

Ethics, wisdom, love, life, stories, compassion, and our warm heart

Quotes recieved in a newsletter from Joel and Michelle Levey:

“Ethics is how we behave
when we decide we belong together.”
–Brother David Steindl-Rast

“Wisdom tells me I am nothing.
Love tells me I am everything.
And between the two my life flows.”
–Nisargadatta Maharaj

“Why are you unhappy?
Because 99% of the things you do, think, and feel are about your self.
And there isn’t one!”
Wei Wu Wei

And more from MYTH*ING LINKS

“…That is all that is holding us together, stories and compassion.”
–Barry Holstun Lopez

“We have to study with our warm heart, not just our brain.”
–Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Grace and Gratitude

?…feel how precious it is to have grace walking beside you…
holding your hand… loving you now…
flow through your heart…
the seeds in your hand…
bloom in the land.?

A song of grace that emerged around a camp fire at No Mind Festival and was brought to us by Making Good.

As Michael said,

how lucky to be along for this ride and be able to add a few words along the way. grace.

How fortunate we are to be alive and aware that we’re along for this ride and able to participate simply by flowing through our heart.

Mandala from Motionstone

Finding Comfort in Beauty and Sorrow

I’ve been appreciating the song Marching Bands Of Manhattan by Death Cab For Cutie.

Some lyrics that speak to me:


I Wish We Could Open Our Eyes

To See In All Directions At The Same Time
Oh, What A Beautiful View
If You Were Never Aware Of What Was Around You

Sorrow Drips Into Your Heart
Through A Pinhole
Just Like A Faucet That Leaks
And There Is Comfort In The Sound

Photo by Esther Beaton

A Taste of My Life

I stare at a blank screen… what to write? How do I jump back into this blogging world?(and now the screen isn’t blank anymore! Easily amazed!!)

It seems that early May was the last time that I offered a post of personal content… Here’s a taste of what I’ve been up to:

  • Facilitated a parenting group which focused on social and emotional development for gifted children, deepening the child-parent bond, and helping your child build self esteem. This group last spring was the first of many more to come in the 2006-2007 school year when my attention will be focused on providing a plethora of opportunities for supporting parents (ideas welcomed)
  • Attended a training on Teaching Parenting the Positive Discipline Way, facilitated by Jody McVittie. The great news here is that after this training I proposed that the entire staff at our school be trained in Positive Discipline, thus strengthening the attention already given to social and emotional development and providing a consistent language throughout our community. Our staff training begins on September 1st… yippee!!
  • Exploring life with some amazing people in my life coaching and parenting coaching private practice. The word coaching feels aligned with the ways I engage with parents, but I’ve yet to find a word that really names my interactions with individuals. Lately I’ve been seeing it as ‘together we create a relationship that will support you at this time in your life, utilizing my gifts and experience, following your needs and desire for growth.’
  • A great deal of time and energy went into being a part of the convening team for Evolutionary Salon 3. My lessons in the arena of collectively facilitating such an event were immense. A central theme that emerged for me during that endeavor has been my dedication to supporting the furthering of evolutionary ways of being together (with an emphasis on authentic being). The 2nd and 3rd salons were also my first experiences of officially opening and holding space for a large group of people. (some photos)
  • I deepened my plunge into hosting an Open Space by facilitating an Open Space with third graders on the theme of: “What can we do to make our school a better place? What can we do to make our world a better place?” This was a rites of passage gift to the third graders as I will not be their counselor in 4th grade. We began with a performance from Thomas as he awed the students into the message of following your passion. Thomas and I have been deepening our professional relationship, Woven Essence, and are excitedly exploring the terrain of our joint offerings. Stay tuned for more on that front!
  • My dear friend, Christy, celebrated her bat mitzvah which I was blessed to attend (just taking this opportunity to point you to her beautiful d’var talk about her birth portion of the Torah.)
  • An exciting new endeavor unfolded through a Girl Geek Summit that I attended in March. Amy Lenzo and I launched, The Beauty Dialouges: An exploration into the essence of beauty and a deepening of our capacity to experience life through the lens of beauty. You can read the story of how these dialogues came to be, explore the notes from our calls, read the blog or join us in the forum.
  • I had a wonderful visit with my mom out in Seattle followed by the end of the school year and then adventures with my dad and Cathy coming to visit. It was great to share my life on the west coast with my family.
  • While my dad and Cathy were visiting, my close friend and soul sister lost her father and brother in a tragic accident. Right now I am in North Carolina spending a couple of weeks with her in this land my heart calls home, in intimate relation with the currents of life that flow in the space around the intersection where life and death touch our human soul.There’s much that my heart is yearning to share about my current now, but the words are not yet formed. Here’s a taste of my flow from a couple of days ago and I invite you to open your heart and listen so that we can feel each others connection in this moment as I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to connect with you through this easily amazed haven and the connections that link us with one another.
  • I return to Seattle next week, Thomas and I will move into our new home whose back yard joins with Carkeek park, and then together we’ll journey back down south for a work/play trip and visit with friends and family.

That’s a taste of my world for you and an eye opener for me regarding all that’s been going on (and all that lives in the spaces between what I’ve shared here). Life really is amazing.