Tag: mind

Work in Progress

I’ve been in my drafts folder the last week or so. Here’s another post written in 2020. I mostly still agree with what I wrote then, especially the last paragraph and as for the rest I suppose the excessive wordiness led to the resolution, so I’ll accept it as necessary to my process. ☺️

Five Years Ago:

When lines become attached across various aspects of our life so that the heart and mind also become intertwined, we can feel conflict between the two.  When the heart and mind are separate from one another, we can instead develop an interest in what causes conflict and resolve response to our interests.  The ability to separate SELF from mind where emotions reside creates room to instead reside in the heart from where purity of right action stems.

Facing conflict can release disguise of avoidance under appropriateness.  What can be learned in staying with a situation that appears to present inappropriateness or conflict of interest if you are willing to abstain from your own interests – to deeply examine those, set them aside, and let something larger than you work in your stead?

The external is a reflection of the internal.  We bring about situations externally to assist us in resolving what is unseen internally.  This is not intentionally manipulated to be so in most cases; it is simply the nature of our world.

If there is no conflict internally, no conflict will show externally.  If a conflict arises in the external, can it merely be a reminder to release the ego or does it need to be cut away externally to appease the internal discomfort created by perceived conflict?  If the ego is released will not conflict fall away on it’s own?

Perhaps there’s no such thing as conflict of interest, only mind that seeks to be in balance, and the choice of working in the external or internal so that one can reflect the other as desired.  Choose the inside work, otherwise the situation will show itself to you time and time again, though the faces and setting may be varied.  Growth in peace with what is, as it is, will allow you to dissolve anything external that challenges your comfort.

– from a Chihuly exhibit at The Biltmore in 2024

(Not a huge fan of the Biltmore but a very big fan of this artist & his team. 💕)

In the Bag

My family traveled to the mountains in the spring of last year to support my son’s college exploration. Once his tour wrapped up we wanted to check out the local scene. (Does this feel like home for the next few years?) After a superbly tasteful lunch we found ourselves in an interesting herbal tea shop with candles, crystals, tie-dye this and that, and other fun finds. My son was honestly in and out of there quickly but my daughter lingered a little longer to find a gift for a friend that was back home caring for our cats and I had to snag a few loose leaf tea blends to share with neighbors. When we were almost finished checking out the clerk at the counter said, “the angels are in the bag” and smiled with a little sparkle in his eyes. I thought maybe he was talking about the energy of angels being channeled by him into the bag. The bag was folded neatly over and though I half wanted to unroll it and check right then and there, I felt I was either supposed to just get it or left the possibility open that he didn’t say what I thought he said. I took the bag, smiled as if I knew what was up, said thank you, and wished the clerk a good day. Guessing my bag would explode with angel energy when I opened it, I decided to hold off until our shopping was done and we were back at the Airbnb. So as the day went on and our attention became flooded with other details I didn’t open the bag at all. I packed the unopened souvenirs in the suitcase and moved on to the next activity.

When we were back home a few days later I opened the bag to share the treats we found in the shop — and lo and behold at the bottom of the bag there were golden angels gracing the crease. I removed the little confetti trumpeting angels and laughed at how literal this was. There was nothing to guess at and nothing misheard.

These days I keep the little cuties in the kitchen as a reminder to not overthink things because “the angels are in the bag”.

Willing

“Tell me the truth,” I asked love,

“What are you?”

“I am the everlasting life,” love said,

“I am the recurring joy of living.”

– RUMI


What about your current thinking may keep you in resonance with outdated patterns? What has been categorized as definite that could benefit from less black and white perspective? Where is the grey space? Where is the light creeping in? Could your aha moment be hiding out in there? Could a little more ________ ( inspiration, understanding, joy, fill in the blank for what fits for you at this time) be there too?

Whatever it is that’s happening in your life now, what would be different if you were in consultation with your heart and letting that dictate your next movement?

What does loving compassion have to say?

What if a simple willingness to ask yourself what your heart has to say could clear up what’s foggy, loosen the grip on what’s tense, or lift a burden that you’ve been hauling. Willingness to show up from a place of love (directed at yourself, perhaps another, or a situation) may offer you the opportunity to color your life with more vibrancy and hues fit for your best to come forward. There’s no need for perfection in coloring, only you willing to be genuinely you while love does the rest.