I am grateful for the knowledge that I have the power to jump out and jump back in. That power is how we create our life, if we know we have it, learn how to use it, and practice, practice, practice.

I am also grateful for the awareness that I am either swimming in the water or floundering around out of it. Being fully present in that awareness is how we experience life to the fullest, learn about our inner and outer realities, and access the infinite guidance of the universe, so that we can spend less time floundering, or swimming upstream, and more time going with the flow. Going with the flow does not mean an absence of effort; swimming is still hard work and there will inevitably be dangerous currents, snags, diversions, steep drops, and predators to deal with. That’s why it’s so great to minimize unnecessary effort and build up strength, energy, and awareness so we’re prepared to meet those challenges with the fierce grace of a mighty fish.

I like this Bill Harris’ writings and I think his message here is one of the true keys to living happily as a human being.

A couple of concepts he mentions, which are recurring themes in my life: the beauty of the rainbow is in gazing up at whatever sliver of it you are lucky enough to see, not in trying to find the pot of gold; and, as Dorothy found out, seeking and grasping for what we think is the perfect reality (Oz) is just illusion distracting us from the real reality, the only thing that really matters, the fully experiencing of the here and now of this moment.

I like that he acknowledges that on this plane of material reality it impossible to escape cause and effect and impermanence so there is no point in trying. It is also impossible to stay detached and not strive. We are human. The difference, though, is that we can do it all with AWARENESS. That’s the key that opens every door and we all have one. It’s no secret, it just requires a lifetime of learning, and trying, and practicing, and being open and present. The more I do all that, the more I get out of my own way, the more it all makes sense and the more worthwhile I realize it is.

I’m doing some research on the Joseph Campbell Foundation and grants offered by the Opus Archives and Research Center.  I’m reading Cambell’s bio and notice that in 1953 he was “appointed President of the Creative Film Foundation.”  I do a google search on “Creative Film Foundation” and haven’t found it yet, but came across the American Film Foundation where I quickly see that they produced Maya Lin – A Strong Clear Vision, a film I completely stumbled upon at the library last week and which is sitting in Hayley’s livingroom waiting to be watched.  They also produced Bird by Bird with Annie, a film about the writer/teacher Anne Lamott who’s book of the same name is on my Amazon wish list.  This is part of the synopsis:

Annie likes to pass on the “secret of life” that she found written on a computer terminal bearing a picture of Koko the gorilla: “The law of the American jungle: Remain calm and share your bananas.”

I see a lot of wisdom in that and add it to a collection of inspirational/wise quotes I keep.  The next quote down happens to be from one of my favorite philosophers/writers, Alan Watts*:

From the moment of your birth, you’re in freefall.

Beyond my appreciation for the quote and it’s reminder that this craziness is what it’s all about (so I should stop freaking out when falling), this makes me smile because I had also just read in Joseph Campbell’s bio that he was “named the general editor of the series Myth and Man, which includes Alan Watt’s Myth and Ritual in Christianity.”  That reminded me about how much I’ve learned from Alan Watts and that I need to seek out more of his wisdom.  So I had a google search up for “Alan Watts” when I read that quote.  Funny!  These multiple synchronicities are like trail markers helping me find my way through new terrain.  And, I’m only receiving the benefits because I bothered to move my gaze from the ground (where I’ve been fixating out of fear of stumbling) to what lies ahead. At moments like these, the steep climb feels like a walk in the park.

*The wikipedia entry says Watts wrote about “subjects such as personal identity, the true nature of reality, higher consciousness, meaning of life, concepts and images of God and the non-material pursuit of happiness” – I guess one of the reasons I like him so much is because those are the subjects I keep coming back to as most meaningful/worthy in my life.

This photo will make sense when you get to the final paragraph.

The more I tune in to current reality, the more I show up and pay attention, the more I am Now Here, the more synchronicities I have the pleasure of experiencing. Each occurrence is a sign that I am in harmony with the flow of life, instead of fighting against it or being the fish who’s unaware it’s swimming in water. I am studying the heck out of mental/emotional/physical/spiritual equilibrium these days and it’s wonderful when the insights come in waves which reinforce one another. That’s what keeps me swimming, and what helps me jump back into the water when I can’t see the bottom of the river or which way the current is going.

Speaking of being Now Here, that’s a clever reminder from my man Baron (see Choose Wisely – Part 2). Though I’ve not met him, his teaching greatly benefits Jeph and I, body and spirit, and I am grateful for it.  The library has been a great source of synchronistic materials this year – something about wandering the stacks and letting yourself be guided to the material you need…Last week I picked up a book called Meditations from the Mat, by Rolf Gates, and was  pleasantly surprised to see his shouts out to Baron, from whom he learned how to really teach others.  In the intro, he talks about Baron sharing his teaching philosophy: be there to help others unfold themselves (good metaphor for yoga practice!) and discover their true nature, their core, their essence, their Source.  It was a synchronicity to discover the book (which is full of wisdom very much in line with what I am working on) and the connection to Baron.  I’ll probably have to buy it so I can continue to benefit and receive inspiration for my own writing.

And carrying on the theme of connecting with your source, I was visiting the Communicatrix (a favorite writer and clever, funny, witty gal) remotely a couple weeks ago and read about The Remembrance Challenge.  It sounded like a worthwhile practice so I signed up and today is Day 9 of my effort.  It is aligning nicely (synchronicity!) with the pranic healing exercises (will elaborate in future posts) I started around the same time. I’ve been looking for some assistance with meditation and I like the approach here: filling up instead of just emptying. It’s great, and important, to clear out, and I’m doing that too, but it’s really nice to have guidance around what to fill the emptiness with: the pure you, the Real reality.  Connecting with that reality which is You Now and Here, and accepting it, provides solid ground to take the next steps.  In ‘Getting to the Core of Your Business’ (where The Remembrance is outlined), Mark Silver describes it’s benefit for dealing with the inevitable life crap:

If you are walking and you step into dog poop, it’s not very pleasant. This happens all the time– we step into situations in the world which feel like we landed in the doo-doo. Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time trying
not to have stepped in it.
The truth is, support is right there under our foot. But to take the next step, it feels like we’re sinking deeper into the doo-doo. But that’s the only choice we have, and we find it’s not so bad after all.
The Remembrance gets you through the doo-doo, by putting you squarely where you are. Once there, you remember to witness the Divine Reality, so you feel the strength of the ground under you, holding you up, rather than focusing on the dog doo, that keeps you from taking that next step.

I got a good laugh when I read that because just a day or two beforehand I had stepped in a big pile of…mud…(see photo) but it looked an awful lot like doo-doo, and I definitely sunk deeply into it.  It was cool, though, because J was there and while I muttered “oh-my-god” in a shellshocked way, he sprang into action and directed me around the corner (of the model home who’s window’s we were peering in when this happened) to the water spigot where I was able to rinse off my foot and sandal (and the other foot/sandal for OCD symmetry.)  Cool that I was wearing sandals so it was an easy fix.  And cool that J is so observant and street savvy – one of the many reasons we’re a good team.  It felt really good to react with lightness, even humor, to a messy situation.  I take that as a ray of progress for this control freak!

As usual, brisk walking, fresh air, sunshine, and someone cool and smart, like Jeph, to bounce ideas off of, is my best method for improving mood, increasing energy, and figuring life out.  Sometimes the reasons for negativity are obvious and tangible, stuff like: health/hormones, an interview or speech, workload, communicating,  finances, etc…I’ve been actively learning how to identify such stressors and developing techniques to redirect that energy.  And that’s going pretty good!  But this scenario was slightly different because the reasons were not obvious.  The process I’ve been developing is: 1) recognize when I’m not feeling great/not enjoying life, 2) determine the sources of the negativity, and 3) take action to redirect.  So the question became, “If I realize I’m not feeling great, but I’m not sure why, how can I move on?”

When life is subtle, our method of  must be subtle, too.  I should be pretty good at that by now because there has been way more nuance than concreteness in my life lately.  Subtlety is about putting one foot in front of the other, at a steady pace, which in this case meant listing the possible reasons form my less than stellar mood.  Having Jeph listen and add to the list was most helpful, but this could also be done with a good old-fashioned pen and paper.  The point is to let your mind loose and see what bubbles to the surface, like forming multiple hypotheses for the science experiment of your life.  It was a fruitful activity for me and generated several possible reasons: 1) I am impatient to be out of the temporary apartment/Boston but anxious about the still unknowns, 2) I am concerned about the energy needed to pack and load our stuff again, and 3) visiting my mom brings up old patterns of negativity including anger that I didn’t/don’t have strong parental life guidance, and fear that I could become pessimistic and unengaged in life like her.  So, with three possibilities in hand, the next question was, “Should I treat the hypothetical as actual and act accordingly?”

J and I tossed that around for a bit.  My gut guidance was that when you probe for reasons, the issues which come into consciousness are having an impact.  Even though the connection between these patterns of negativity and my current state were not obvious, they were still real.  Connecting the dots in this way requires trust in your internal compass – it’s like feeling your way through a dark tunnel and as you make the decision to make the connections, some light starts filtering in from up ahead.  Because, once you know the sources pulling your energy down, you can face them, head on.  You’re at step 3: redirect. So how do you redirect the negatives?

The method is the same as when you are activating the positive or sustaining its momentum:

1. identify what you have control over (this is your game plan, your action items, and how you react to what comes your way)
2. identify what is beyond your control (this is the thoughts and actions of other people, as well as all that comes your way each day)
3. accept and make peace with what is beyond your control and trust  in the universe and its rhythms; then shift the focus to cultivating gratitude for all the good stuff (make a list)
4. start playing the game, following your plan, moving through your action list (crossing off, adding to, adjusting as you go), and reacting to the unplanned (spontaneity is inevitable, and good!), all with confidence in yourself

I intend to practice this method with consistency, so that it becomes instinctual and creates an environment (internal) that isn’t conducive to stress.

*Developing this method of living consciously then reading the excerpt from Voluntary Simplicity later that night was definitely synchronicity at work.   A passage:

The crucial importance of penetrating behind our continuous stream of thought (as largely unconscious and lightning-fast flows of inner fantasy-dialogue) is stressed by every major consciousness tradition in the world: Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, Sufi, Zen, and so on.  Western cultures, however, have fostered the understanding that a state of continual mental distraction is in the natural order of things.  Consequently, by virtue of a largely unconscious social agreement about the nature of our inner thought processes, we live individually and collectively almost totally embedded within our mentally constructed reality.  We are so busy creating ever more appealing images or social facades for others to see, and so distracted from the simplicity of our spontaneously arising self, that we do not truly encounter either ourselves or one another.  In the process we lose a large measure of our innate capacity for voluntary, deliberate, intentional action.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

I think it was attributed to Winston Churchill, and I also saw a variation attributed to Harry Truman.

I’m sure it has been said, in many ways, by many people throughout time.  And, like many cliche’s, it’s basic truth is the source of its ubiquity.

I see it as a good daily motto, because most days have at least some difficulties; I usually refer to them as challenges so my variation would be:

“Pessimists see the challenge in every opportunity but optimists see opportunity in every challenge.”

So, like I said up top, it’s all in the approach.  Getting back to the subject of being-in-the-moment, each moment is a chance to frame your approach, be it optimistic, or pessimistic.  Count me in the former posse because without hope for the future, belief in the fundamental goodness of the universe, and awareness of your individual power to shape your reality, life would be a bummer, dude.

As inscribed at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi “Gnothi Seauton”, or “Know Yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his 1831 poem of the same name, says it’s all inside of you, baby:

This is the reason why thou dost recognize
Things now first revealed,
Because in thee resides
The Spirit that lives in all;
And thou canst learn the laws of nature
Because its author is latent in thy breast.

I’ve been aware of my connection to the cosmic energy/spirit for many years. Maybe I was born understanding it. But it is so easy to get distracted by the physical realities, and daily challenges, of life, and lose sight of that connection. And without taking time to be still and know yourself, balance and clarity are elusive, as is the connection to what is really Real.