A Day in May

It’s May. The lilacs are blooming. 

All things seem possible today. 

Why do I feel this way? 

-William C. Butterfield- 

Today I’m being asked, from the inside out, to move from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s side where I can simply sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. It’s a rare moment as I’ve been a driver most of my adult life. As a boy I was a dreamer, a serene player in the divine drama of a cosmic dance. But as I grew older, the impositions of strive/drive adulthood kept pushing, shoving and drawing me away from my deep connection with the natural order of Life. Climbing trees and flowing with the breeze was no longer acceptable. I had to ‘grow up.’ 

Today, decades later, in the autumn of my life, I still experience the feelings of my boyhood. As I hear the wind blowing through the trees today I’m transported into a wonderland I used to live in but gave up for another life. I sit at my desk with the windows open to the breeze, the trees and the ease of a more natural life that ebbs and flows with the seasons of my soul. On this spring day in May the longing of my heart again sees its part in the unfolding of Nature’s abundant Life! 

In this moment, I’m sensing the possibilities of our collective natures that want to be free. 

Like so many of us, I’m observing the ongoing dramas and difficulties unfolding all over the world. Children, now grown up, are still vying for positions and crying for love and consideration as they, we, find ourselves continually disempowered by others. Power over is the operative experience rather than power with. It’s a low level of awareness that always ends in regret, anxiety, disappointment, anger and indifference. Power with, however, comes to us through affirmation, trust, inspiration, acceptance and understanding. It comes from an inner awareness called Love! 

Love is discovered in nurturance. It’s discovered in flowers, trees, a gentle breeze and feelings of caring relations. It’s awakened and affirmed in a soft touch, a kind word or gesture that communicates the presence of acceptance, appreciation, understanding and Life. It’s built into our DNA but can be hidden, repressed and denied through abandonment, despair, anger and fear. The seasons of soul open us to new potentialities. The month of May, in this spring season, becomes a portal where infinite possibilities can awaken to new Birth, new Life and new Love. 

As I finish this writing to again walk with the earth, wind, sun and water; I ponder the many environmental energies we fail to appreciate. Sensing the fields and flowers, trees and waters help awaken us to places and spaces within, around and flowing through us all. Awakening to this season, this month, this week, this day and this moment of grace brings us soul to soul. Here, the wholeness of the Divine invites us to embrace this day in May. It invites us to enter a new way to live; to recognize how all things seem possible today because the lilacs are blooming. 

• Step out of doors today and feel the energies of this season of soul. Feel the aliveness of the trees, the flowers, the breeze and the many influences that help you be at ease.

• Ponder the possibilities you can entertain today. Awaken to a time and place when you were a child enamored by the flowers and trees; when all things seemed possible. Rest in this thin space of grace and know how it’s here for you today and every day.

• As you awaken to these natural gifts of life, notice their appeal. Bow reverently and feel the wonder of this time, place and space along with the glorious presence of grace. . . What are you sensing here, now, in this day in May? Are you smiling yet?

Let us walk in Love together,
Fr. Rick Meyers+

Easter Vision

To look at a thing is very different 
from seeing a thing. One does not see anything 
until one sees its beauty. 

-Oscar Wilde - 

What are you looking for? This is a very important question because what we see invariably depends on what we look for. In the month of April, many of us look for new life, for budding branches, flowering trees, new relationships, flowing rivers and a host of other things that have been hidden in Winter. Some of us even look within ourselves to discover new beginnings, an awakening presence that comes alive as we’re prompted by an invisible energy fostering new birth throughout the whole of creation. 
 

The word Eostre or Easter comes from an ancient Spring festival celebrating new life in creation that appears annually at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. It was adopted and adapted by the early Christians to commemorate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth who embodied the Christos, the anointing and blessing of Divine Presence within the whole of humanity. It’s an ongoing remembrance and invisible presence of the beauty and interconnectivity of Life shared by the whole of creation. 

The vision of Easter celebrates the ongoing birth, life, apparent death and new life that springs forth whenever we awaken to it from the very depths of our souls. It’s the perennial flow of life energy within us, around us and moving through us and the whole of creation. It’s the renewal of Life that eternally inspires us to engage the creative impulse. It’s the energy that fires the imagination and awakens our inner realities to grow, change and rearrange the patterns of our flowering. It’s what enlivens and inspires us to new life, new growth and new beginnings. 

The gift of an Easter vision transcends our parochial perspectives and invites us to look for beauty in everyone and everything we encounter. It invites us to see with new eyes, to look through the forms into the very substance, essence of all that binds us together. It awakens us to new perspectives, allowing us to practice the alchemy of turning whatever we see as lead into gold. What are you presently seeing as lead that wants and needs to be turned into gold? What’s the transformational catalyst that will inspire you to create something new? 

So much of the time we want to change what’s ‘out there’ without the insights that direct changing what’s ‘in here.’ We want the change without recognizing that our beliefs act as lenses to determine what we see. Our perspectives block us from seeing the parts of reality that wait for us to change rather than doing the necessary inner work of awakening to our blurred vision. We become victims of our own blindness. Does any of this register as truth to you? Are you seeing the inner wisdom of this new vision? 

Presently I’m struggling with my old vision. I’m having difficulty making the transition from seeing the worst of what is to seeing the best. I’m projecting this difficulty on things that are not going my way. My ego is reacting to the dissonance in the world and rather than changing my perspectives, I’m wanting to change others. The insight is that our soul has ways of seeing what our conditioned minds can’t. This shift in focus can help us see the beauty in spite of the beast. It’s a transformative enterprise that calls us to relax, release, realign and renew. 

Life is easy when things go our way, when everything flows as we want; but it’s an illusion we create rather than a reality that is. Easter speaks to us about a new vision that transcends yet includes what we must let go of. It’s the vision of a new way of being in the world that asks us to focus on Life’s eternal rhythms. It promises new meaning in life by transforming the dullness of our lead into the beauty of our gold. It opens us to new possibilities of what is essential yet invisible. Easter vision changes what we can see and be! Are you seeing and being this beauty? 

• As you navigate through Life’s many highways this week, notice what you see. Pause when you think of it and see through the outer manifestations into the heart of the matter. Look for the beauty. See the beauty. Notice how this transforms you and the moment . . . 

• Notice the moments in your day when you’re seeing and feeling the lead, heaviness of life. When you notice it, stop and engage the Anacrusis, the silent upbeat or pause you can orchestrate between what was, is, and can be. Allow this to become a practice that allows you to become an Alchemist. Notice the process of turning lead into gold, darkness into light. . . . 

• Practice this mantra all day every day and notice what happens: See the beauty. . . See the beauty. . . See the beauty. . . See the beauty. . . See the beauty. . . See the beauty. . . Be the beauty. . . Be the beauty. . . Be the beauty. . . Be the beauty. . . Be the beauty. . . Ahh. . .

With Love,
Fr. Rick+

April's Wonder

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.
What is essential is invisible to the eye.

~Antoine de Sant Exupery~

Walking out the door, down the steps, and out to the car, I happened to glance unwittingly to an overgrown garden where I noticed patches of yellow on the ground. I stopped, attracted by the color, and walked over to get a closer look. There in front of me were the first flowers of Spring I'd seen. Small clumps of yellow crocus were growing up all around the evergreen bushes. The surprise of it touched my heart while I stopped in awe to give thanks and awaken to the wonder of this very special occurrence on this very ordinary April Day.

After a few meditative moments I crossed the street, got into my car and wondered how that brief experience had touched me.  Before starting the car, I closed my eyes and pondered the essential nature of those flowers and how they had appeared and brought a new spark of life to me. I then remembered that I'd seen bees flying around the same area a few days earlier without much notice. In an epiphany moment, the whole invisible cycle of Nature became visible. The forgotten rhythm of Life had once again come to life in me.

Shakespeare noted that, "April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." While Einstein is reported to have said, "The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives." The world is full of wonder and magic which we invariably forget on our quests for accomplishment and acknowledgment. It's only when we slow down enough to give attention to our natural environments that we can see deeply into the heart of matter and recognize our interconnectedness with it all.

It takes time to see a flower and we seem not to have time. Having a friend and any significant relationship takes time but we haven't time. Time becomes an illusion we've created which is used to keep us from our Essence and the Essence of everything we say we care about. In the story of Alice in Wonderland, the rabbit is always looking at his watch saying how late he is for a very important date. The date however is always in the Now which he misses, because he's always on the run. Could the rabbit be a symbol for us?

When we open ourselves to look deeply into Nature, we begin to understand everything differently. We learn to slow down enough to ponder the snowfall, raindrops, clouds, buds on trees, flowers blowing in the breeze. We notice the migration of birds, the frowns on faces, the grace of embraces, the sadness in a song, the face that wants to belong, and the feelings that are invisible to the eye. We become more human by recognizing our divinity and that of the whole created order. We become part of it all when we realize there are no real borders.

Spring in April seems to come with a smile and a soft laughter that gently invites us into the wonder of all that is seen and unseen, known and unknown. As we stand at the many crossroads waiting for our rides, we're no longer frustrated at the moments that seem wasted. Instead, we listen for the calls of our youthful spirits that know how to see, wonder, and awaken in the moment. We listen to the rivers bringing new life to life, the earth singing to the moon, and the sun awakening seeds destined to mature very soon.

The first Art is Awe, when a person is struck by the beauty, wonder and intelligence of Creation. It becomes a spiritual experience that touches hearts and souls to register the interconnectivity that's always here but not always known. Each season invites the human family as a community and as individuals to awaken to the mystery and wonder of our Divine connection to Mother Earth, Father Sky, and one another. Through this awareness we see what is invisible to the eye.

• Give attention to the environments you find yourself in this week. Ponder the mystery of how you are apart from them and how you are a part of them.

• As you walk, drive, run, and move from place to place this week, notice how connected and disconnected you are from the environment within you and outside of you. Slow down from time to time and even stop to feel your surroundings, to become aware of your youthful spirit inviting you into awe and wonder.

• See if you can validate the statement; 'what is essential is invisible to the eye'. Note your epiphanies and what is essential to your soulful self.

With awe and wonder,

Fr. Rick Meyers+

March Mysteries

March is a tomboy with tousled hair, 

a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes 

and a laugh in her voice. 

-Hal Borland- 

Yesterday March was playing in the sun, turning snow into mud and laughing with the river on its endless journey to the sea. Today she’s shedding tears of joy that wet the soil and help us know how tears and laughter go together. We’re in a variety show that’s being created by the angels of Spring. What will tomorrow bring? What songs will they sing? What mysteries will we experience in this magical mystical month of March? Is this Winter or Spring? The answer we receive is always Yes! It’s March. 

March as a tomboy is so wonderfully appropriate. When I was a youngster I had a tomboy friend. She had mischievous smiles, tousled hair and a mysterious sense of wonder. We played tag, marbles, climbed trees and reveled in the everyday ordinary. Of course, we were finally tamed by our culture to ‘grow up’ and so we did, sort of. I continue to wonder about the angels, the messengers that live in us and the need to honor them. March helps us remember these mysteries as we embrace the many opposites day after day after day. 

As I look over this calendar month, I’m seeing lots of opposites. Mardi Gras is a no holds barred celebration of physicality while Lent is a time of reflection, penitence and spirituality. Daylight savings time arrives along with another full moon and solstice to mark Nature’s ongoing creativity. College students follow basketball tournaments called March Madness with endless revelry. Trees bud, flowers grow, endings become beginnings while most of us miss the show and forget to go with Nature’s flow. 

Buried in our day to day cruising and bruising we miss what’s happening in plain sight. We march to the beat of the clock while forgetting we don’t have to mind it. Isn’t life to be savored in ways that help us see the beauty of our days? Isn’t the mystery of Life something worth exploring beyond the fog and the haze? To see Springtime as the land of awakening helps us look deeply within; to sit by the rivers, the waterfalls, the gardens, our next of kin. Mother Nature awakens, calmly cradling all of creation with gentle power hour after hour after hour. 

As you journey through this month of mysteries, awaken to the many features of every day that are here for you. Sit with the rain, the snow, the wind, the sun, the moon and the stars. Become aware of the awakenings taking place in all of Nature’s many hours. Rather than taking power walks and runs, take reflective walks that allow you to be with Nature rather than just passing through. Notice the buds awakening on the trees and smell the flowers in the morning breeze. Let the angels of Spring play and sing with you while your tomboy dances through. 

• Allow a new view to appear within you about the month of March. See each day as a gift of Life that’s being expressed for the greater good. Also note how we humans influence the weather, the seasons, the ability of Nature to be in harmony and not. . . . 

• When the wind blows, the rain pours, the snow flies, the sun shines, the calm soothes; give thanks for the mysteries that bring fort abundant Life. Commit to being a better steward of Nature’s mysteries in whatever way you can. Give thanks and honor your Earthly Home in thoughts, words and actions. . . . Learn to laugh and dance with the wind. . . . 

• Spend more time outdoors this month. Go beyond the boundaries of your normal habitat which could be your own back yard. Notice the buds on the trees as they open and expand. Be aware of what magically erupts from the ground once the snow melts. Become more aware of the birds, the insects, the sights and sounds as Winter turns to Spring out there and inside of you. What new awareness is this eternal moment awakening for you? What’s springing forth from within to create something new?

Fr. Rick Meyers+

March On. . .

The requirements for our evolution have changed. 

Survival is no longer sufficient. 

Our evolution now requires developing spiritually: 

To become emotionally aware and make responsible choices. 

It requires us to align with the values of soul – 

harmony, cooperation, sharing and reverence for Life. . . 

-Gary Zukav- 

The path of transformation always involves the path of descent. This path leads us through great love and great loss, serenity and suffering. It teaches us that life is not an either/or path but a both/and path that leads and follows us along the way. The secret to our human existence is the awareness that what we think we know is only a partial knowing. The further we travel along the paths of life the more opportunities we have to know what we don’t know. The more we come to know our not knowing, the more we can know, grow and awaken to life’s infinite possibilities. 

One of my favorite stories is Alice in Wonderland. In it we are taken on a journey into our own inner landscapes, the mysteries within our unconscious mind. It’s a land where anything is possible, where caterpillars are sages, flowers sing, cats talk, the unknown becomes known and what is abnormal becomes normal. It’s an inner look at our unconscious mind where up is down and down is up; a place of wonderment where physical reality is fluid and unpredictable. It offers us opportunities to march on into the soul of our hidden and repressed inner lives. 

Eventually Alice emerges from her ‘dream’ to realize the lies of her culture. In so doing, she makes different choices that change the trajectories of her life. This allegory points to the truth of our own unconsciousness and lack of inner knowing which, when awakened, changes everything. Discovering we are integral parts of the One, I Am, opens us to the Holographic Universe where the Whole is greater than the sum of its parts and where each part contains the Whole. How does this translate into your spiritual tradition and understanding? How does it in-form you? 

As darkness and light, love and loss, serenity and suffering continue to enter our spheres of influence; how are you to re-evaluate your survival strategies? What responsible choices do you want/need to make that align with your soul? Where do you find harmony? How do you share who you truly are with the world? What kind of cooperation is necessary for you to live more fully into the Who that is truly You? How are you reverencing Life, engaging, witnessing, bringing healing and wholeness into your spheres of influence, bringing Life to Life for yourself and others? 

These questions beg our answers as we enter the ‘brave new world’ that’s birthing all around us. The answers lie deep within us, in the depths of our souls, in the spiritual presence that’s alive within us here and now. Our task is to align with the inner values of soul, with the divine guidance that’s speaking through the still small voice connected to the soul of every season. It’s our choice. There’s no more business as usual. Rather, it’s our time to act with clarity, purpose and reverence. The time is now! The place is here to March On; to discover our eternal Spring in everything! 

• Take a few moments throughout the day to stop and March On into new ways of being more soulful. Ask yourself why you’re here, what this moment is asking of you and how you can more fully engage this journey of harmony and reverence of Life. . . 

• Notice your habitual patterns of thinking and acting and as you do; change one thought from discord to harmony, from selfishness to sharing. Also, hum a soulful tune and March On into a whole new way of being and doing. . . Hmm. . . What are you sensing?

Fr. Rick Meyers+

Transition Anticipation

While it’s February, one can taste the full joys of anticipation.

Spring stands at the gate with her finger on the latch.

-Patience Strong-

This past week Old Man Winter again made himself known with blizzards of snow creating a landscape of wonder. Today, Brother Sun shines as temperatures rise while Sister Spring seems to have come out of hiding. As snow changes to mud, clouds evaporate through a gate of change that rearrange what happens in our gardens. The shift from February to March marks a transition, a change in our position. Spring silently stands waiting her queues as we muse what will come with her arrival.

Transition anticipation takes place in every season of life and in every ending that longs for a new beginning. It’s the energy that invites us into the never ending cycles of birth, life, death and new life. It’s the eternal drama that plays out every day in infinite ways here on earth and throughout the cosmos. The anticipation is a consciousness that sees through the illusions of permanence into the impermanence of all that is. It’s a different perspective that threatens our finite ego mind as it opens to our infinite soulfulness.

What have you been sensing over the past months of winter? What new insights have come to you that you’ve begun to ponder and explore? Are you still locked in the deep freeze of frozen thoughts and feelings or have some of them begun to thaw as you’ve allowed a new light to shine on them? What’s this moment asking of you? Are you still stuck in an old pattern of behavior that you’ve outgrown? What will it take for you to ‘spring forward’ into the new rather than ‘fall back’ into the old’?

As we make a turn in the calendar from winter to spring, will it be just another day, or can you sense the inner and outer changes that are here and yet to come for you? Stop for a moment and breathe in where you are. Is it possible that there’s a ‘Presence’ drawing you into a new ‘season of soul‘. What are the underlying energies, the anticipations that beckon your attention? Can you sense a new aliveness under the surface of what has been and wants to be? Are there new adventures beckoning you to let go of the old and embrace the new?

In anticipation of a new day, I awaken to the morning slowly wondering why I’m still here. I sense the energies that want to hold me back and draw me near. What part of me wants to pull the covers over my head to wait for something beyond this season that seems so drab. I don’t want to get up out of bed. I want the warmth of the sun, the breeze of a different season. I want something new for a different reason. The alarm goes off and I’m drawn out again. I sit down to write but can’t find my pen.

The transition anticipation moves me beyond the external seasons to the ones inside; to the ones I repress and deny, the ones I try to hide. I put my best face forward but sometimes it’s a lie, a partial presence that repeats the mantra ‘Why’? Why can’t I simply be with todays’ reality? Why do I have to go through this season again? Why am I not satisfied with who I’ve become? Why even ask why when I’m so glum? Won’t there always be enough of whatever I need? What’s inside this tiny seed called me?

Life’s flowing energies unconsciously pass through us with every season. It’s the Divine Light spreading its delight; the sweetness of a new day that makes us laugh and sing, love and play. Here we’re in a brand new day, one that’s wrapped in the wonder of Life in a glorious way. Wake up, I hear. Life is here and now. Wake up every day, learn how. Wake up to the winter that’s in every spring. Wake up to every season in everything. Wake up to the wonder of Life near and dear. Wake up to the gift of eternal cheer. Wake up to the wonder of being here! ! !

• I invite you to engage the above Wake up exercise every day for the next season of soul and see how it changes your perceptions, perspectives and presuppositions. . .

• As you engage the changing seasons, inquire into what you’re being asked to become aware of. Ask yourself the ‘Why‘ questions to get a sense of your dispositions, judgements and expectations concerning Life for yourself and others. . .

• As we move from winter to spring, notice the anticipation that takes place in your life and in your attitudes. Notice how the environment changes you and how you can change your environments. Give Attention to your emotions and their impact on you. Do few things and do them well. . . . Take your time. . . .Grow slowly. . . .

Fr. Rick Meyers+

February Anticipation

Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle:

a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.

And the anticipation nurtures our dreams.

-Barbara Winkler-

After another snowfall, I took a walk by the Dolores River a block away from where we’re presently living. Alone in the silence of late afternoon, the sounds of running water came unannounced and stopped me in my tracks. I turned and found my way through the underbrush to the shore of the river where there was a significant stream of open water that soon disappeared under a mass of ice covering everything downstream. I came to rest against a small tree in awe of this living miracle opening itself to me to watch and listen to its wonder.

The cloak of winter was lifted in this moment allowing me to ponder the Autumn months that had left tiny remnants of dried seeds on their branches. To my surprise, a few new buds on other branches were already formed, waiting to sprout. It must be February, I thought, as I plucked off a dried seed that would never blossom becoming aware of the billions of new ones that would. The dream of what had been and what would be washed over me like the open water and the rest of the ice cover river: I was witnessing a living paradox of death and new life.

In that moment I remembered a blog I’d read by a young woman from New York City a few days before who had nothing good to say about February. She’d complained about the snow, the cold, the long dark dreary days, the inconvenience of this wretched month and how she wanted to erase it from the calendar. I sent her and all the others that felt this way an intuitive message about the moment I was having and how February was the miracle month of gestation that helps bring forth new life in all its forms.

I’m no longer a young person but I’m finding a youthful wonder that nurtures dreams. I’m discovering so many things that in my younger years seemed hidden because I was too busy and impatient to look for them. Today, I’m discovering that what appears to be cloaked is really what I’m not giving attention and awareness to. It’s not what’s out there or not out there that’s disturbing but rather what’s in here, in our minds that exclude stillness, openness, presence, and wonder. Discovering this paradox opens new worlds to be acknowledged and appreciated.

What if it‘s not what we look at that matters but what we see? What if seeing the miracles that lie under the cloak of February’s many changes opens the doors of perception that allow us to see with fresh new eyes? When we stop long enough and look with wonder and awareness, we’re given in-sight into the mysteries of Nature’s many wonders and into our own True Nature. This is part of the ever unfolding mystery that lives in us as we in It. This Ineffable Essence makes itself known within every season which is why we say: ‘Every season has Soul’.

Though February is short and seems too long for some; it’s filled with love and sweet surprises. It beckons us to rest awhile longer before the energies of Spring overwhelm us with new life bursting forth everywhere. Love is in the air even in this short month, but you have to slow down to experience it. You have to savor the subtleties like a vintage wine and give thanks for the freezing and thawing that sing Nature’s songs and enliven creation. The uncertainty of each February day is the gift of a shy lover who calls us to new life in subtle ways.

• Awaken to the February contrasts and feel the anticipation of new life that’s in the process of birthing everywhere, even in you. Notice it in your frowns and smiles, your joys and sorrows.

• Give thanks for every moment as you become aware of the Life that’s coming and going with every inhale and exhale, every thawing and freezing, every moment in every season.

• In this February anticipation of newness; what dreams are you nurturing?

Looking beyond the mysteries,
Fr. Rick Meyers+

Add More Love

 The color of springtime is in the flower;

the color of winter is in the imagination.   

-Ward Elliot Hour-

This January I’m imagining the whole world being in on a conspiracy of love. It’s a contrasting image to the one I’m seeing in the various media outlets that seem to thrive on conflict, violence, fear and craving. It’s an attempt to transcend the levels of falsehood with the levels of truth that affirm, inspire and reveal love, joy and peace on earth. It’s an understanding that we conceive what we perceive, that thoughts create things and we create our own realities. I’m deliberately working daily to see with these new eyes.
 

I must say that this is more difficult than I thought it might be as I continually fall back into the negativity of my disappointments with what’s going on and what’s not. I find my mind drifting off into past scenes where life seemed to be more kind and gentle, more understanding and meaningful, more optimistic and hopeful. Maybe it’s because I’ve been around long enough to experience what I thought was an age of innocence when it was really an age of anxiety, prideand passive aggression. 

I remember the summer of nineteen sixty eight and the flower power years that followed. I remember Colorado when  most mountain towns were not tourist attractions and when it was easy to live on a few hundred dollars a month. I remember when the color of winter was in our imaginations and our imaginations created new realities. All these years later, these remembrances seem like dreams, like figments of my imagination; so why not imagine thewhole world being in on a conspiracy of love that’s now birthing?

As we reflect on the birthing process, isn’t the most difficult part the actual delivery? Having been with my wife and also with our daughter when each gave birth, it seemed that the most concentrated pain and difficulty came in the actual process of giving birth. In both cases it took a significant amount of time, needed assistance and was an exhausting experience. Birthing cattle and horses was also a trying experience that came with signs to alert us and fill us with anticipation, surprise, mystery and ultimate delight.

Ponder the process of our global community being involved in a conspiracy of love that’s requiring a massive birthing process over time that we measure in centuries rather than in hours. What if the closer we get to the birthing, the more difficult it becomes? Can you imagine this? Can you see how this perspective reshapes the images, emotions and potentialities for new and extraordinary energies that can assist us in the birthing process? Can you see the beauty in the analogy for this moment in time? 

If the color of winter is in the imagination, then it’s time for some outlandish imagining as we wrap ourselves in the creative imagery of this season of soul. It’s time to imagine birthing a new world in every thought, word and action we engage. As we all set about conspiring to birth love in our daily interactions, aren’t we actually bringing about this evolutionary trajectory? Aren’t we all the ones we’ve been waiting for? Might this be  the time for an ongoing transformational conspiracy of love for our global community?

I invite you to join with me in this conspiracy of love on a daily basis; to create the color of winter in your imagination with the color and textures of Love. When you find yourself in indifference, anger, disappointment, fear, despair and blame, STOP! Look at the recipe again and see that it says: Add more Love,like sugar, flour and water. It’s an  essential ingredient in the recipe for abundant life and when we all conspire, imagine the possibilities!  Stop, look, listen and add more love. Create the reality that transcends all misery and includes all serenity. Isn’t this what we’re here for? Imagine it, act on it now and every day for the rest of your life and notice the change it makes in you and those around you over time. What do you say? ? ?

• Recognizing Winter as a powerful season of soul, engage this silent conspiracy and talk with your family and friends about it. Imagine the power of this conspiracy if two and three and fifty make a billion people  adding more love daily for the next decade: Transformation! 

• Remember that adding more love to any given situation begins with you. To love and reverence your many selves changes behavior, deepens awareness and invites your True Self to be seen and embraced. Discover your enoughness and no matter what mis-takes you make, add more love and kindness to the recipe. In doing so, you will change the world! Remember to Remember……..Little by little we accomplish much………Blessings All Ways………

With Love and great Hope,
Fr. Rick+

Winter Silence!

Winter is the slow down. 

Winter is the search for Self. 

Winter gives the silence you need to listen. 

Winter goes gray so you can see your own colors 

-Terri Guillemets-

The map told me the next exit would get me off the interstate highway onto a secondary road that could lead me to my destination; so I took it. At the end of the off ramp I came to a stop and breathed a sigh of relief. Every lane on the interstate was a fast lane and I’d been in the fast lane way to long; so there I sat pondering a new direction. I made a left turn onto the county road and headed north. My pulse slowed, my vision cleared and with a new sense of intention I finally began seeing where I was again and where was I not. 

Reflecting on the winter season can help us slow down and look within. It can also challenge us to awaken as we metaphorically slip and fall, slide off the road, lose our power and get stopped in our tracks. It can cause us to rail against the storms or look within; search for more external diversions or for something deeper. Winter gives us opportunities to be quiet, to listen with more attention to the inner promptings and deeper longings. It’s a time for slowing down, getting off the expressways and discovering a vastness flowing within, around and through us. 

Reflecting on a time when there were no handheld electronic devices, no twenty four seven news, no interstates and no internet; I find myself longing for a simpler life. I find my Self beyond what our culture says the ‘good life’ is and what the advertisers tell us will make our lives better. Sitting in the stillness of a ‘snow day’ opens me to a serenity that comes from the unfettered presence of the hearth, falling snow, wind, quiet and wonder of the open moments. Here there’s a connection with divine Essence, with the heartbeat of creation that’s silent, generative, nurturing and ever present. 

Sitting in this winter environment of black, white and grey can bring us to an awakened presence of our own kaleidoscopic life and that of the whole creation. When we see with new eyes and hear with new ears, everything changes. The silent music that comes, paints pictures in our souls that remind us of other times, places and spaces that have colored our lives yet go unnoticed. In slowing down, remembrances of precious inner graces come floating up from our unconscious to remind us of who we truly are and who we are not! 

If what I’m saying sounds superfluous to you, it’s likely you don’t like the season of winter. You may have forgotten the ears and eyes of your inner child that listened and even saw the silence that was ever present in the depths of Life. You may have bought into the conventional three dimensional worldview that shuts down all we’re capable of perceiving and receiving. However, when we intentionally search for the True Self that lives in the heart and soul of everything; winter becomes a wonderland, a gift to be lived, a season to be embraced and enjoyed!

• As you live within these winter days, practice giving yourself the gift of silence that connects you to the ‘thin places’ and invites you into new ways of seeing and being. 

• Make an intention to slow way down and enter into the joy of each day. Become aware of the wonder and beauty that’s ever present, silently calling you Home! 

• Turn off the television and all the outside interferences that bombard your senses for a significant period of time every day to sit deeply in the silence of the moment. Notice the difference it makes. Feel the freneticism and the calmness, the inner energy that leads you astray and another that lovingly leads you Home. . . .

In Peace and Joy for the new year,
Fr. Rick+

Christmas Presence!

Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas 

lies in your heart. 

-St. Nicholas-
 

Ever since I can remember, the Christmas season has been one of family, ritual, reverence, beauty and celebration. Over the years however, many family members have moved on to various places in the cosmos and we don’t see each other anymore. What we do see however, is the special nature of this time that comes in December and ushers us into January and beyond. Advent and Christmas are a launch pad that invites a passage from darkness to light, from endings to new beginnings. 

Innate in the human psyche is a need for regular communal celebrations that touch the soul and point beyond themselves. This emphasis reaffirms our common human/divine identities, strengthens our communities and binds us to a world nurtured and supported by Divine Presence. Peace on Earth and Love for All are values that bring us together in spoken and unspoken mysteries of unity, collective responsibility, cooperation, purpose, creativity and abundant life. Here we can discover our spiritual unity in our diversity. 

This is a time of special reverence for the Creator and creation; a time of blessing, commemoration and recommitment to the highest cultural ideals and best practices we can know. It’s also a time for celebrating the goodness, awesomeness and ordinary day to day engagements and miracles of Life. It’s not just reserved for a ‘special‘ group of people, but for the whole human family to know and experience our Oneness through a common Source known by many names. It speaks to our hearts and awakens souls. 

The word Christ comes from Christos, a Greek word meaning anointing and blessing. It was given to one man who gave it to all humanity. In this divine presence, we are all anointed and blessed to be a blessing. It’s an unconditional gift given everyone at birth that connects our humanity and divinity. Unfortunately, we are taught that only people of our tribe receive this anointing and blessing with conditions. This teaching separates and divides us rather than uniting and bringing us together. It’s imperialism. Not God. 

The month of December brings us Advent, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice and Christmas. Each started out with a specific group of people; Christians, Africans, Jews and so called Pagans. Each started out with a purpose to celebrate and affirm their common identity which we are slowly beginning to recognized as the common identity of the whole human family. Intuitively, in the depths of our souls, we all know that we are One family, One community, One Being. 

Like so many things we’ve seen as separate, we’re finely coming to know that we are all One. Commemorating the past is ideally a pursuit in experiencing the lessons learned about reverence, respect and remembrance which can draw us toward higher levels of Being. It’s in giving that we can receive, in letting go that we can grow. It’s in death that we find new life, in wonder that wisdom is awakened. Love is letting go of fear. In every breath we can find the blessing and anointing within us here! 

This requires our utmost presence. This Presence is beyond thought, word and good intentions. It’s a contemplative dimension that allows us to see through the illusions of our conditioning while opening ourselves to the possibilities and potentialities of our original blessings. It’s about being receptive, ready, willing and able to grow with curiosity and delight on a journey beyond resistance, fight and flight. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride of a lifetime here and now. Taste and see, keep learning how. 

Remember to remember that the true Spirit of Christmas lies in your heart and soul. From this sacred inner space, you can discover the birthing place that’s always and everywhere anointing and blessing with abundant grace. Remember to Remember.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo! Christmas Presence! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! 

• This month into the next, meditate on your original anointing and blessings. Let go of all the negativity you’re experiencing and rest in the wonder and beauty of the Who that is Truly You.

• Become aware of how you receive and reject the gift of love for yourself and others. Awaken to the conditioning you received in your life about who you are and who you’re not. Observe how you accept and reject your original anointing and blessings.

• During this Advent and Christmas season, become aware of your innate and wonder-filled blessings. Find the humility and gratitude to live into them. Practice Christmas Presence every day in this season of soul and see what happens. Make it your Mission. Continue to re-member *Christmas Presence* every day in every breath

Christmas Blessings,
Fr. Rick+

Winter's Invitation to Love

To choose love is not something we do once. 

It is something we need to choose 

again and again and again. 

-Simone Weil-

It’s been said by many throughout the ages that the earth, moon, sun, sky and entire creation is a means to love fueled by an energy source that permeates all life forms and is known by many names and no name. This being true, we are all a means to love, along with our children, ancestors, friends, associates, strangers and even our so called enemies. The paradox is that we also have the capacity to not align with this Source energy, not choose love. Consciously and unconsciously we resist love to choose fear and all that comes with it. The choice to love is ever present; ours to choose and not. 

Winter’s invitation to love comes in the light of days, the darkness of nights, the cold of snow and the warmth of what we think we know. It comes in the births of our children and the deaths of our parents; in the cloudy skies and the blink of our eyes. It comes in the gifts we give and receive, in our tears and cheers, in the grace of an embrace, in the challenges and mysteries in every new face. To choose love is an ongoing invitation to awaken us to the many wonders of life including our difficulties and strife. 

In the winter season of barrenness we are humbled to find warm places, generative graces, solitary spaces and heartfelt homes filled with smiling faces. The cold of the days and darkness of nights remind us of times before that held more life and delight. With snow falling endlessly, plants and animals under cover, we long for new ways of being, a divine longing for safety, shelter and companionship. In the silence of this season we can begin to find reason to awaken again and give thanks for it all. 

Decades ago I spent a winter of solitude in a primitive log cabin at eleven thousand feet in the Colorado Rockies. Each day was a day of silence and wonder. I was humbled by the mystery of life and the wonder of the moments. I would sit for hours watching the weather, the storms coming in from the west and wonder why I was there, why the love of my life had abandoned me and what these moments were asking of me. The invitation to love plunged me deep in to my own soul and into the soul of winter. The one room cabin became a womb, a birthing place of grace. An awakening space. 

My loss became my gain, again and again. I found a safe place for me, beyond false pride to integrity. It was a place called home deep inside myself; a place where I could live into my true authentic Self. The white world of snow reflected a love for me that helped me grow. What seemed dead invited me back to life, beyond what I thought I could ever know. Finally, in the month of May I walked down the mountain to begin a new day. Winter’s invitation to love opened my heart, showed me its soul and freed a love in me that I could finally grow. Daily now, I listen for the invitation to Love. Do you? 

• As you encounter the days, weeks and months of winter; awaken to the subtle energies of the season. Feel the wonder of the snow days. Drop your agendas for a while to walk in the snow, feel the cold on your cheeks, warm yourself by the fire. . . . 

• Take time this month to slow way down and listen to the invitation to love that winter calls you to. Stop, look, listen and be present to the sounds of silence. Experience the darkness and light. Create a different pace that’s filled with grace and delight. . . . 

• Choose love for your family and friends and……choose love for yourself again and again and again. Notice what happens when you slow down, listen, look, love, laugh and lighten up. Allow yourself to be surprised by love, joy and a peaceful serenity. Do it now, again and again!

Love and Blessings,
Fr. Rick+

Soul-Thanks-Giving-Receiving

Our challenge and our goal 

is to accept that the good is here, 

give ourselves permission to receive it, 

smile and give thanks. 

-Edwene Gaines-

What images, concepts and emotions come to light when you hear the words soul, thanks, giving and receiving? What memories do you have of these words you’ve heard since childhood? Where do you hear them these days and how often do you use them? Is it really more blessed to give than receive and don’t we first receive life before we can give it? What’s the meaning of Thanksgiving in these United States and do we only give thanks when things go our way ? What are you giving thanks for on this most lovely day? 

These questions and many more come to mind as the month of November draws to a close and with it, the autumn season we’ve celebrated over the past months. As this year draws to another end and beginning, where are you in your life trajectory? What have you learned this year that’s stuck with you and changed the way you see the world? What are you giving thanks for and have you accepted the ‘good’ that’s appeared and asked you to receive it within the depths of your soul? 

At a personal level, I’m in the midst of a significant life transition that’s taking me from the comfort of where I’ve been into an unknown adventure of soul. It’s marking the end of one season and the birth of another. It’s requiring me to let go of previously held opinions, prejudices and conclusions that directed my life and held me captive. In making a different series of decisions based on altered perceptions, I’m accepting the mystery of the new, letting go of the old and become receptive to a host of different options.

Do you have this sense that the ‘good’ is here for you or are you still looking for it? My sense is that the ‘good’ is always here. The problem is, we don’t perceive it. Our conditioning directs us to look outside ourselves rather than within. Our perceptions are clouded by our distorted perspectives which invariably look outside ourselves toward something we’re unable to reach. What if the ‘good’ is always here waiting for us to receive it? What if you could soulfully give yourself permission to receive it? What then? Would it make a difference? 

In my case, when I finally let go of what I didn’t want, to focus on what I did want, the path began to show itself. The challenge is to accept the soul of the gift that leads to another gift; give yourself permission to receive it, smile and give thanks until you’re convinced this step by step process is leading you into the next season of your soul. When you realize that you can receive this ‘good’ whenever you awaken to it, you start receiving and giving the appropriate energies in surprising ways. This is when your journey becomes your destination! Hmm. . . . 

What’s curious here is that the ‘good’ is often associated with the ‘familiar’ which can become a subtle and pervasive form of human discontent. The familiar enables us to tame, control and forget life’s mysteries. In familiarity, we’re able to stay away from the unknown that challenges us to grow and change beyond the confines of what we think we know. In familiarity, we can’t find our True Self because we become lost in a land that no longer invites surprises, new challenges, soulful nourishment and delight. 

When we awaken to our inner life, we awaken to the reality that the ‘good’ is always here, but not always familiar. In fact, it’s somewhat alien because we’re usually disconnected from and fearful of it. In the seasons of soul; thanks, giving and receiving are not just for what we think we know. Rather, they’re for thanks, giving and receiving what we don’t know and in this not knowing, can come to know. It’s the wonder of this alternate reality that brings wisdom to our door, showing us the luminosity and liberation of Life in all its’ various forms. 

So my friends, as you celebrate Thanksgiving in these waning moments of autumn, give yourself permission to receive the familiar ‘good’ you know and the unfamiliar ‘good‘ you don’t know. Smile, receive, give and appreciate all of it. Allow your journey to be your destination that you might “See the Good” and “Be the Good” in whatever ways it speaks to you. In the process, you will repeatedly discover the soulful blessings of thanks, giving and receiving. Blessings All Ways! 

• In the time you have this week, reflect on what you’ve learned over the past four seasons of winter, spring, summer and autumn. What season of life speaks to you with the greatest clarity at this moment of your journey? How will you engage it? When and why? 

• As you reflect on the above, use your journal to reflect on the ‘good’ that’s inviting you into the greater mysteries of Life. What might the unfamiliar be calling you to? 

• Engage a conversation between your Soulful Self and your ego self. Notice how they come together and diverge. What’s your discernment going forward? 

• If you choose, use this mantra to connect with the unknown in this day, week, month, year...

Listen... Follow... Observe... Wonder... Listen... Follow... Observe... Wonder...  

Listen... Follow... Observe... Wonder... Listen... Follow... Observe... Wonder...

Blessings,

Fr. Rick+

November Skies

The wild geese fly through the cool November sky, 

sounding an invitation to the spirit of adventure. 

As I listen attentively, 

a divine restlessness within calls me Home. 

-Ralph Charles Butterfield-
 

In Celtic spirituality, the ‘Wild Goose’ is a symbol for the Spirit of Life. It signifies the divine restlessness within that inspires all living things to grow, change and rearrange. It represents the ongoing journey from one season to another; calling forth an exploration of the vital life giving elements of the world we live in and that live in us. It challenges the notion of domesticated safety and invites us, through the open gate of exploration, into new areas of ourselves and the world with a carefree spirit of adventure. 
 

In engaging this last month of autumn, which leads to the advent of a whole new cycle of life; it seems appropriate for us to look forward into the transformative adventures of birth, life, death and new life rather than keeping the ‘Wild Goose’ in a cage. So many of us get caught in the trap of rigid, imposing, controlling lifestyles that we settle for restrictive and closed systems rather than opening to more carefree and adventurous lives. Rather than more domestication; we need more liberation, exploration, experimentation and investigative migration. 

Could it be time for you to become more open to the Spirit of Life and Light in the midst of the growing darkness? Might the Spirit that directs us to the most intimate places in our lives be inviting you into a transition, a pilgrimage, a divine restlessness and carefree spirit of adventure? Might the Spirit of endless love be drawing you into a portal of transformation; into surprise and delight beyond dogma, prejudice and meaningless fight-flight? Could it be that what you’ve been waiting for is already here within you in the darkness of an autumn night? 

As I look back over the many decades of my life, I’m surprised to see how often I flew with the wild geese. I’m also surprised at how often the rigid, controlling and so called safety traps sought to capture me. The intimacy of Sprit however, always seemed to spring me from the clutches of those traps and liberate me to again fly with the wild geese that beckoned in every season of soul. If life is meant to be an adventure, change is a gift we must learn how to use. In folk-tales, being stuck or asleep forever is not a blessing but a curse. . . . . 

Our divine restlessness speaks of something within that calls us to grow, change and rearrange. It’s a journey into the depths of our own pain, confusion, fear, despair, meaninglessness and all their opposites. It’s an adventure into the heart of our hearts and relationships; into new ways of seeing deeply into situations that call for different approaches. Following the Wild Goose and embracing our inner restlessness gives flight to the homing instinct inward to our True Nature. It’s the gift that, as we willing open and nurture it, transforms our lives and leads us Home. . . . 

• If you’ve noticed a kind of inner restlessness lately; what do you discern it’s saying to you? Is it possible that it might be a message from the Wild Goose, the Spirit of Life, a Godding Grace? 

• How has Spirit been domesticated in your life? What would it be like for you to give flight to your homing instincts and discover a flight path into your True Soulful Nature? 

• What’s the baggage that holds you down and keeps you from flying? What’s at risk for you to let go of this baggage? What’s at risk for you to be still and know what this moment is asking of you? What are you sensing, feeling, pondering? 

• In the coming days and weeks, spend significant time with your journal and intentionally listen to the call toward the gift of increase and decrease that’s here blessing you, encouraging you, inviting you Home

In Peace,
Fr. Rick+

Autumn Mystery

Autumn is so wonderful and wise; 

yet everything is dying. 

-Hokyo-

This October day seemed more like November with its’ overcast skies, misty air and chilly temperatures. It proved to be a peaceful day of reflection that called to mind the path of the sacred heart. We put a fire in the fireplace and dreamed of other times, past and future, where the seasons meet to create something new and unexpected. We reflected on the darkness and light, sorrows and joys, wonders and wisdom of the ongoing changes that found their way into our lives to expand our constricted awareness. 

What is this transition we all share within the changing seasons of our lives? How is it that we wake up one day to realize we’re somehow in another season of life? Do you remember being in third grade and then suddenly being in high school, in and out of relationships, passing into your forties and. . . being here now? Does time change like the seasons or is it just our perceptions looking from different angles? It seems just the other day I was cradling two babies and now they’re cradling their own. . . .What a shift in perspective. . .

For many of us autumn is a time of mystery as we watch the leaves turn colors, drop from their branches and create humus for new growth. We ponder where we’ve been, where we’re going and why we’re here. We warmly wrap ourselves with memories and hopes for things to come while knowing that we, like the bushes, flowers and trees will one day transform into something we can’t presently see. It’s an ongoing reminder that the only permanence is Impermanence, the only moment is now, and the gift of Life is always Here! 

These reflections take me to some words I remember from St. Francis where he reminds us to be instruments of peace; to sow love, faith, hope, pardon and joy. To console, understand, give and remember that in dying we’re born into a whole new way of life. The mystery of autumn speaks to this mystery of dying and new life. It’s part of a cycle of this earthly experience that’s played out every moment with every being and doing we engage. It’s our eternal ‘wake up’ call to the ongoing cycles of birth, life, death and new life. 

The wonder and wisdom of changing seasons is the ever present reminder that we’re only here for a short time; that we receive life to give life and that nothing can take the place of Life’s loving companion Presence. In our forgetfulness however, we fail to recognize our place in the web of Life. We forget that we are stewards rather than just consumers and worshipers of things. We get caught up in our cultural conditioning and fail to remember our Essence, our True Self, our ever present Divine interconnectivity. 

By living in a materialistic culture, even our spirituality becomes externalized. We build monuments, create special words, actions, ideas, rules, regulations and accepted ways of being and doing that inform our lives. We venerate and worship the forms while forgetting the substance, the very Essence of what the forms point to. As Alan Watts said: “We see the finger pointing to the moon and rather than seeing the moon, we suckle the finger.” The same is true for all physical manifestations of the ineffable, the ever present mystery of Life. . . . Really? ? ? 

How clearly do you see and inwardly digest the wonder and wisdom of this autumn mystery as it lovingly invites you to identify with colored falling leaves flowing gently with peaceful ease? How connected are you to the cycles of life that point to the ever present seasons of birth, life, death and new life? How often do you relax, release and realign yourself with these natural and ever present cycles seeking to awaken an awareness of your interconnectivity? When do you joyfully celebrate the love and reverence of letting go what holds you back for renewal? And finally, how do your react to these questions and can you smile at what they’re asking of you? 

• Over the next weeks, give yourself the gift of meditating with a sagely tree. Slow down long enough to go deep enough and ‘feel’ the energy of this amazing be-ing. What’s the silent message it has for you? Yes, you can even hug the tree and rest in its arms. 

• Reflect on how you experience the ‘things’ you see and give value to. What do they point to beyond their form? What’s the substance, essence of the forms? What might you learn from this experience about the value of Life? 

• Bring your attention to your own form, your physical body, and reflect on its transient nature. View pictures of this form over time and notice how it has changed. Finally, look within and connect with the formless nature of your Being and Belonging. Identify the Essence that came into form and will return to formlessness when the form falls away. Allow this soulful perspective to in-form you and notice what it brings up for You. Are you smiling yet? 

• Give yourself the gifts of Attention, Awareness and Appreciation for all the learning opportunities you have in this earthly life of form and formlessness; permanence and impermanence; attachment and non-attachment. Try giving thanks in all things and. . . . . What might this teach you about the mystery of autumn that’s living within you? Hmm...

Love and Blessings

Fr. Rick+

October Revelations

October is about trees revealing colors 

they’ve hidden all year. 

People have Octobers as well. 

-Jim Storm- 

James was a friendly kind of guy. He always seemed to have a smile for those he’d meet, even strangers. Everyone seemed to like him and his kindhearted personality. He had a good job, family, education, house and all the things most people strive for. He was creative, successful and an upstanding person in the community. What most people didn’t know however, was that James had an emotional condition he never dealt with beyond his own dark times he called ‘The blues.’ They were his Octobers.... 

Most of us have Octobers that very few people see. We try to hide, repress and deny these revealing colors, these dark and different shades of grey while the winds of change blow through our lives. What are the hidden colors in your life, the angers that turn your green leaves red or the fears and sorrows that turn your leaves yellow? What detaches you from the Source of life like the leaves that blow in the wind and cause you to suffer a disconnecting isolation from the depths of your soul? 

Sandy was an artist who sowed seeds of optimism and joy wherever she went. Her subtle energy was contagious and produced a harvest of blessing with all those who knew her. She lived modestly after her husband died while staying connected with her grown son, daughter, grandchildren, friends and associates. The depths of the darkness she experienced at the loss of her life partner took her into the soil of her soul where she planted new seeds of Life. The harvest from that planting became her new Octobers.... 

October is the month of harvest. Our thoughts, words and actions are the seeds that grow and become that harvest. Inside each seed lives the potential for joy and sorrow, love and fear, peace and war, life and death. Through our inner and outer work, we tend the garden of our souls and not. As we give attention to the higher positive energies of life, they grow; overcoming the negative energies. Each of us, each moment of everyday make decisions unconsciously and consciously that create our Octobers.... 

As we look at October through the lens of our own lives, we can begin to see what needs to be let go of and what needs to come. We can notice the many colored leaves floating in the breeze as liberators for a new season. We can recognize the harvest of former plantings as the seeds that have grown to bring us where we are, who we are and why we are. All this acts as a readout for our discovery of the direction we need to go for another harvest of Abundant Life. 

The revelations of October teach us to give attention to the mysteries of Nature that dwell in us and all of Life. Every season of every day has something new to teach us. Joan Chittister says: “The harvest of youth is achievement; the harvest of middle age is perspective; the harvest of age is wisdom; and the harvest of life is serenity.” With attention, each of these show up every day in every season; and the more attention we give to them, the more we grow into the fullness of who we truly are. The revelations of October are the revelations of a lifetime and they come to us every moment, every day. What are you observing? 

• Receive the gift of Self-reflection today as you walk in Nature. Notice how you reflect the trees shedding their leaves, the harvests of the season, the warmth and coolness of the air, the clouds and clarity of the sky, the darkness and fertility of the soil. . . . 

• Reflect on the seeds you’ve sown and the seeds you’re sowing. Recognize the harvest of each of these seeds and through your thoughts, words and actions; plant new seeds that will bring the kind of harvest that creates more love, joy and peace. 

• Give thanks for the many opportunities you have to plant new seeds today and begin harvesting a whole new array of revelations for this October season of soul.

Blessings!

Fr. Rick+

The Art of Autumn Awareness

Each of us is an artist of our days; 

the greater our integrity and awareness, 

the more original and creative 

our time will become. 

-John O’Donohue-

The days of autumn change with the colors of the leaves, the clouds of the sky, the movements of the winds and the conditions of our hearts, minds and hands. Each day becomes a challenge to rise above all that’s falling away and all that keeps coming our way ‘for better and worse, richer and poorer, in sickness and in health until death us do part.’ The artistry that’s necessary for this journey requires a certain amount of stilling and action, trusting and wonderment, opening and closing, presencing and awareness. 

What does it matter if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul, and how does it feel to lose your soul? How does your emptiness get filled once you’ve let go of all that’s been dear to you, when you stand naked in the cold with the covering of your leaves stripped away by the changing seasons? What fills the empty spaces of the bare branches of your life and the possibilities and potentialities of another winter sleep? How do your endings prepare you for the newness that’s promised to come in this harvest season of soul? 

With each passing day we move closer to the end of our present journey and the beginning of our new one. In each moment we have the opportunity to rise above the losses and celebrate the gains; the lessons that have been, are, and ever will be. The experiences of autumn teach us about letting go to let come, about the ever present cycles of nature that help us belong. They teach us to be artists of our days in so many mysterious ways; to bring forth original creations with new intent, boldness and creativity. 

The air was cool on this Autumn afternoon. Colored leaves sprinkled the ground and hung from the branches of the trees. I moved along the rarely walked path through the wonder of the forest. The sun was close to setting but shined brightly in the cloudless sky. I stopped for a moment to listen to the silent music coming from the breeze and breathe in the scent of the season. Suddenly, I became aware of a subtle light radiating from the earth, trees, leaves and air I was breathing. It was as if a portal from another dimension opened for a moment to reveal the infinite energy of Life to me. For an instant, the invisible became visible. A brand new awareness awakened in me. Somehow I was seeing from a place deep within my soul. 

To be an artist is to be attentive to the interconnectivity of all things. It’s the ability to see through the form into its’ substance and recognize the substance as the very essence of Life. It’s to envision, hear, and intuit a message beyond the messenger; awaken to an intention beyond an action, a sadness behind a smile and the invisible within the visible. An artist sees with the eyes of a child beyond culture and doctrinal dogma, and is open to the divine disclosures within the exteriors hiding the inner realities. The artist broadcasts these insights to the world. . . . 

Whether we know it or not, each of us is an artist in some way, shape or form with integrity, awareness and potential beyond our present awareness. As we learn of this innate Being-ness, this Essence, we become more interactive with the creative process which allows us to awaken, align and integrally participate within this Divine Drama we call Life. This field of experience is inherently a field of Belonging, an interconnected web of relationships; patterns of energy interpenetrating one another. It’s a relaxed receptivity rather than an intense striving that draws this ever present current of creativity to the surface. 

Autumn then becomes a special season to practice the ‘Art of Awareness.’ It’s a season to get comfortable with the unknown and unfamiliar; to let go and let come the mystery of Life which opens the gate-less gate flowing with currents of new creativity. Here we discover the mystery of belonging where all is One, where interconnectedness is the core element of the many seasons of Life. Here we awaken to a process beyond the limitations and restrictions of our institutions. Here we live within a whole new field of awareness to experience a belonging that creates New Life. How are you allowing your inner artist to mentor you, to inspire you? Hmm? 

• Allow yourself to again spend significant time in Nature this week with the awareness of your interconnectivity to all you see, hear, taste, touch, smell and sense. Focus on this experience as if you were a five year old child and note your revelations. . . . 

• Focus your attention on everything you consider ‘ordinary’ this week and awaken to the beauty that’s here within it. Just say to yourself: “See the beauty!” and recognize how changing your perception changes your awareness and your life. . . . 

• As you slow down to become more present and aware of your experiences, give attention to the field of Belonging. Feel the interconnecting linkage with your inner and outer selves as well as with what you sense flowing in, around and through you. You can do this in Nature or sitting quietly in your favorite lounge chair. Feel the Divine Energy that’s always part of you! 

• Walking through your days, notice when you’re in an ‘intense striving’ mode. As you become aware of this energy, stop and drop into a ‘relaxed receptivity.’ From this space, feel the shift in the current of your energy. Note the difference in your demeanor and in your creativity!

Blessings,
Fr. Rick+

Autumn Soul

The trees have magic in their colored leaves

as the earth sighs.

-Hokyo-

As I sit on our porch swing watching the days go by; I wonder about where we’ve been, where we’re going, and why I ask why. I wonder at the changing seasons that pass so often without even noticing them and the sighs so deep in remembrance that tears flood my eyes. I  wonder why I’m here and why I keep writing words on this page. I wonder at the mystery of colored leaves, honeybees, and the smell of sage. I wonder why I wonder and, I even wonder about you. . . .

My only living uncle is now ninety three year’s young. He retired from his business years ago but  never retired from life or from embracing another day. A few years back when he was eighty five, he invited me to go on a two week Great Lakes sailing adventure with two of his friends. The skipper of the fifty foot sailboat was also in his eighties, the first mate was in his seventies, and I was the youngster in my late sixties. The water had magic in its waves while the  wind danced delightfully through the many days. The earth sighed as we joyfully sailed into the unknown.

I share this little story because it speaks of lives that are lived here and now with no excuses for why or how. It speaks of living life to its fullness even as the metaphorical leaves are turning and  eventually falling from the trees. Each of us face this every day without much or any attention, but as we navigate the autumns of our life, the choices we make are more like autumn leaves than spring trees. Autumn is a time for greater reflection and more attention to the magic of colored leaves and shedding trees. It’s a time of awakening to that which always comes after the winter, spring, and summers of our lives. The magic is in the transitions of our positions.

Across the road is an elder green leafed tree with only three branches covered with red leaves. It’s as if these three branches have a secret they’re sharing with the other branches about who they’ve been and who they’re going to be. I see them as grandmothers and grandfathers  paving the way for those who will follow. Here, in the natural order of things, these red leafed branches speak to the others  by giving their very best while finalizing their journey in this soulful autumn rest. It’s their gift of awe, wonder and verdancy for the new life that will follow for all.

As they and we progress further along the downward slide into the darkest days toward the winter solstice, we also reach toward the days of greatest light at the summer solstice. Like these seasons, we humans swing from darkness to light to darkness and light as we make our way through the many seasons of soul. We also have seasons within seasons that reflect the cycles of nature; that determine our transitions of gestation, birth, growth, maturity, verdancy, flowering, harvesting, decline, death and rebirth. The cycles of life continue on endlessly. . . .

As we come to an awareness of these ever present cycles, we can bring each season into another season. The ninety year old person can retain youthfulness in many ways while the twenty year old can become aged and decrepit through depression, addiction and abuse. The adult can remain an adolescent while the adolescent can become an adult. Each of us is programed to become a flower, a towering oak, a reservoir of abundant life. The blueprint we call soul however can be ignored in ways that skew our natural trajectories. The trees can become diseased, the flowers can be trampled upon, the waters can become polluted, the food can become toxic.

In the autumn soul there’s a necessary and natural sense of verdancy, harvest and reflection. There’s also a natural sense of care, nurturance and passing on the best of what we’ve come to know. The elders have magic in their colored leaves and a natural humility that sighs with the earth, air, fire and water as they release their gifts to the breeze. We are those trees with the green, red, yellow and orange leaves. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for to open the doors of perception. We’re the ones standing at the crossroads waiting for our ride, called to maturity, awareness, illumination and the journey for ourselves and others to the other side. Hmm. . .

• As you spend time outdoors in this autumn season, engage the trees and their leaves as they sway in the breeze. Feel the wisdom in their presence. Awaken to the messages they send to you and to all who patiently observe and inwardly digest their presence.

• Sit quietly and ponder where you are in this autumn season of soul no matter what your age. Ponder your maturity, awareness, illumination and your journey. What is this season asking of you? What are you being called to give attention to? What are the messages?

• Give yourself the gift of meditative walks in this autumn season of soul. Become more aware of the earth, air, fire and water that wells up within you; and give thanks for the precious gift of being here at this time, in this awesome space of grace. Ahh. . .  . . . . . .

In Peace,

Fr. Rick+

Remembering to Re-member

Kind hearts are the gardens. 

Kind thoughts are the roots. 

Kind words are the flowers. 

Kind deeds are the fruits. 

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow- 

In this last week of August, the Summer gardens are bearing fruit while the roots continue to seek nourishment bringing them to maturity. Flowers are still in bloom while the cherries and peaches are arriving in the markets for our dietary delights. And what of ‘we the people’ who plant, harvest, market and consume these living treasures? Are our gardens producing kind hearts? Are our roots connected to wise thoughts? Are we flowering where we’re planted with encouraging words? Are the fruits of our labors loving deeds? 
 

As I reflect on the many variables of life in this twenty first century, I’m drawn to the natural order of Nature and how interconnected we all are with the earth, air, sky, water, sun, moon, plants, animals, weather and seasons. I’m also drawn to reflect on how disconnected most of us are much of the time from the natural order of life as we wrap more and more layers of division and confusion around ourselves and one another. What do we gain if the gardens fail, the roots rot, the flowers fade and the fruits spoil? What do we gain if we lose our soul’s code? 
 

Using Longfellow’s metaphor is a telling tale of how intertwined we all are with the natural order of things. It’s a pointer to how important it is to daily ‘remember to remember’ our part in creating a verdant, generative environment within ourselves and our habitats. The simple truth, however, is that many of us have forgotten our part in this divine drama of Life here on planet earth. We’ve traded awareness for expedience, common sense for convenience, remembrance for forgetfulness, responsibility for disregard and attention for whatever. 

As we continue to create more people, more plastic, more pollution, more alienation and disconnection, we tear at the fabric of our True Nature and the natural order of things in our environment. We forget who we are and how interconnected we are with the whole of our Earth mother, all her children and all our relations. Kindness turns to cruelty, remembrance turns to forgetfulness, freedom turns to slavery and delight turns to destruction. This appears in gross physical ways as well as in subtle psychic ways. Do you know what I’m talking about? 

As we end our season of Summer growth to begin the season of Autumn harvest, let us ‘remember to remember’ that we, like the trees and all organisms, are called to shed what is no longer helpful so the new can grow. The harvest of our time needs new growth, new awareness, new ways of being and doing. Let us ‘remember to remember’ who we truly are and are not; to awaken to an awareness that brings kindness to the Earth again. It’s time for evolution, for new solutions and we’re the ones to lead the way! What do you say? 

• As you seek to ‘remember to remember,‘ reflect on you daily behaviors. How kind and friendly are you to the environment that flows within, around and through you? 

• What ‘kind deeds‘ could you engage that would grow good fruit in your life, the lives of others and the life of the environment today, this week, this month, this year? 

• How does this discussion involve the season of soul you’re in? What small resolutions are you willing to make to bring forth more kindness to your part of the earth community? 

• What keeps you from remembering to remember your interconnectedness with the whole of creation and your resolve of loving kindness for all your relations? What inspires you? What makes you smile? What do you need to re-member.

With Blessings to All,
Fr. Rick+

Summer Ends

It’s not what you look at that matters,

it’s what you see.

-Henry David Thoreau-

As I reflect on the transition from the season of Summer to Autumn, there are a host of memories that flood my mind, some of which I am pleased to find while others are lost, or I choose to decline. I remember this last week-end of Summer as a time when the family gathered at the lake cottage one more time to do what we’d done every Sunday. The add on was taking out the docks, bringing in the boats, closing the cottage and saying good-bye to this special place to make way for another season of grace.

Today is different. Most all the people I grew up with are scattered to the wind in form and spirit, which means the generations have continued to move on in time and space. The cottage was sold, the matriarchs and patriarchs died, the children became parents/grandparents and the mobility of our ever changing landscape put people in different places and spaces. It’s now another season and yet the joy, laughter, humor and humus of newness continues wherever we choose to bring abundant life to life. It all continues to grow, change and rearrange.

The magic of childhood is now captured in the freshness of another season, another opportunity to experience new ways of being and becoming something that begins with another ending. There’s a new beauty, a new mood in each season. There’s a sense of aliveness that embraces the changes we go through with each seasonal change within ourselves, our environment and those around us. Summer gives us permission to play and relax while Autumn asks us to ponder the changes that inevitably will strip us bare of everything physical.

Ripeness begins to fill the air as we look across the threshold of Summer’s end to the beginning of Autumn. When August turns to September there’s a shift in consciousness, a bidding farewell to that which has been and a greeting to that which can be. It’s another rite of passage we count as both loss and gain, gratitude and liberation. Rustling in the cool morning breeze, the leaves speak of fertility and bliss to me, of transforming apples to cider and trees into gold, red and orange scenes of endings and new beginnings. What do you see?

The soul of the season speaks to the innermost places of our Being. Listening deeply to the crickets in the fields, the leaves fluttering on the trees, the geese flying free; we can once again discover our interconnectivity. We move with the rhythm of the tides, of the changes and rearranges that come with each new season of our lives. Our children leave for school and eventually follow the rule of leaving home to build their own while we, in advancing age, can grow into sagely wisdom honoring the many roads less traveled and not.

Boldly we walk alone together into the Autumn of our lives, into the mystery of our lows and highs. We stand together as the leaves again drop from the trees to become a bed for those who will lie sleeping underneath the blanket of Winter ease. “Taste and see,” she says to me; Mother Nature seeing me on bended knee. “Abundant life is yours with every season, see?” I stand in awe, knowing the eventual fall into her bosom who so lovingly holds it all. The divine light of Summer gives way to Autumn’s call. . . . A gift, for all. . . .

Let us say farewell to this soulful season of Summer as it lingers on in the heat of the days to make way for the Autumn season that cools the nights and opens newly colored ways. Blessings abound as we let go what has been to let come what will be; as we all together sing our songs in another changing reality. Come what may, we smile today as leaves transform and new life is born in the migration of time. The humorous rule that fires the fool to see everything as play is here laughing today. Have a fantastic wonder-filled day as you smile awhile and laugh a lot, giving Life all you’ve got. . . . Are you smiling yet? ? ?

• As you bid farewell to Summer and give greetings to Autumn, make some space every day to embrace the grace of each season. Reflect on this past Summer and what it’s opened for you in this new season of Autumn, and what you’d like to bring it to. Give attention to your intentions and live into them daily. . . .

• As you make this transition, reclaim your sense of humor. Open yourself to the wonder of all that’s here in this life. Feel the coolness of the evening with a smile, the warmth of the days with laughter, the gentleness of the morning with a grin that encourages you begin again.

• Finally, recognize the soulful season of life you’re in and take whatever sad song you’re singing and make it better, better, better. . . Ahh yes, it is a brand new day! ! ! !

Blessings,

Fr. Rick+

August Inspiration

The power of imagination

makes us infinite.

-John Muir-

As I sit pondering this last month of summer, I find myself imagining the inspiration of  engaging  something wonderful that could radically change me, my family, my surroundings and the world. Within this power of imagination everything seems relative, yet within my grasp. I notice the leaves on the trees in these dog days of August and realize that in a month or so they will begin to turn from green to red, gold, orange and eventually be on the ground as humus to greet the coming cold and winter snow.

These thoughts in themselves fire my imagination to the infinite possibilities there are in any given day on this glorious and mysterious planet we call Home. Imagine what it takes to create the four seasons with the trillions of interactions that keep the balance and harmony within the ecological systems. Ponder how we humans ignore the interconnecting nature of all our relations with these visible and invisible systems. Reflect on the mystery of what it takes to create these diverse miracles of Life we take for granted and hardly notice.

August is inspiring me to imagine the infinite wisdom and creativity that caused this fragile earth, our island home, to be created. It’s also inspiring me to recognize that we are not just residents but stewards of this bountiful and beautiful habitat. To recognize we are part of the wholeness rather than apart from it demands an awareness that we had before we got lost and forgot the interconnectivity of everything that is. What new power of imagination would help us to become more conscious, to care and co-create with the generative spirit of Life again?

What small adjustments could we make to become better stewards of this blue marble traveling through space? What small actions could we engage to enhance the inner awareness of humanity at this time in our lives? What ‘leaves’ do we need to shed as summer ends and autumn begins and, what if the most significant difference we could  make was simply to become more wise and understanding? Would that be enough? Would it make a difference and if so, why would we not make this change in awareness?

As we walk through this interactive human life, it seems we’re always wanting someone else to change rather than looking at what we need to change individually within ourselves. When I get angry with something ‘out there’ and not give attention to what’s going on ‘in here,’ I miss the opportunity to transform the world through me: I miss the gift of inspiration that shows me my own lessons that still need to be learned. I rationalize and forget to remember that nothing changes until it changes within me.

As John Muir’s above quote says: The power of imagination makes us infinite. So, what are you imagining in this season of soul? What images are being shaped in your heart, mind, hands, feet and voice? What images are you feeling and sensing that bring Life to Life for you? What inspirational thoughts can you imagine that will make a difference in your life and in the lives around you that are positive and generative? What gifts have you hidden that want to emerge through you at this time in your life, no matter what?

We live in a time of great growth and change, and the infinite power of imagination can create both positive and negative opportunities to create a world that resonates with both harmony and discord. The choice is up to us individually and collectively. Now, in this month of August, imagine beyond imagination something you can initiate that will change your world. Imagine a new attitude that inspires and fires your imagination and that of others. Imagine being a tree letting go of what’s unnecessary in the coming season to let come what’s necessary beyond it. Be the gift, the inspiration. Be the flowing river, the rooting tree. What do you see?

• This week spend some significant time in nature and listen to what the trees, birds, earth, rocks, clouds, breeze and streams of water have to say to you. Recognize the finite and infinite within the whole creation and awaken to the seeds  being sown in you. . . .

• When you find yourself complaining or feeling down this week, open yourself to the power of imagination. Imagine the wonder, wealth and wisdom that’s here inside you and everything you see. Don’t rationalize, simply see through the illusion of confusion and be inspired by the infinite possibilities that are always here within and without. . . .

• Recognize this week that Summer is rapidly coming to an end and Autumn is right behind. Ponder these days and ask: “What are these moments of Summer asking of me?” Discover the power of imagination that can awaken infinity in you. Remember Alice in Wonder-LAand and how you might be her. . . . Hmm. . . .

Blessings,

Fr. Rick+