Sacred Work

We all sense that there is a deep hunger in the world for something more…

Something that will take us back to a greater sense of meaning and purpose.

One of the core principles that brings us back to this purpose and meaning is recognizing the sacred in all that we do.

It doesn’t matter if our work in the world is cleaning floors, doing surgery, running a business, caring for a home and family.

One is not more important than the other.

If we were to change our perspective about the sacredness of what we do, our wholeheartedness would also change.

We could release the need for labels, and other forms of identification with form.

When we view another person with a deeper sense of who they are, we are truly seeing them for the first time.

We must also embrace and cherish the opportunity to interact with others

with a servant’s heart.

The Tribe

Being a part of tribe has so many advantages.
You can huddle together to gain support.
You can bring your challenges to the group to receive additional wisdom.
You can simply 'hang out' to revitalize yourself.

The tribe plays a role in society today as an extended family.
Sometimes the experiences within the family structure are quite intense.
The tribe offers a place of sanctuary and respite.

When you look at Mother Nature, She used the 'tribe' to support life.
She groups diverse populations of animals, plants, trees, to form support structures.
She sometimes coordinates their growing cycles to ensure that each of them have a terrific potential for survival and for thriving in the world.
In some instances, She inspires one species to help another.

The 'tribes' in Nature, create beauty, unity and reconciliation.
They create for us a visual of how we can experience life in a more whole way.
They demonstrate collaboration.
They demonstrate serving the greater good.
They demonstrate the celebration of the success of another.
They demonstrate reaching the potential of what is intended.

The 'tribe' is a basic structure of life, created for our good.
It is a blessing and a gift.
It is a reservoir of wisdom.
It is another form for connection to Spirit.
The tribe teaches in ways that no other 'form' does.

Who is your tribe?
What can they teach you?
What can you share?

Ripening

Ripening is a process that occurs in its own time.
It doesn't happen because we 'want' it to happen.
It doesn't happen because it 'should' happen.
It happens because that's 'who' it is.
It has its own timeline for when and how.
It is no respecter of persons.

Conditions around it can affect it.
It can hurry it up...or slow it down a bit.

The best ripening seems to occur 'in its own time'.
'In its own time' means just that.
No added pressure, no added requirements....
No self-imposed comparisons with others like it.

Ripening has a sequence to it...and this sequence must be respected for the
best outcome.
The sequence follows a pattern that is included in its core make-up.
The sequence builds upon the foundational piece that proceeds it.

In order for the ripening to yield sweet fruit, Mother Nature considers everything.
She pays attention to temperature, water, earth, air...
All the factors come together in their own time.

The Ripening of our own souls follows the same process...
We unfold and mature as we are ready.
We can choose to accelerate this process or slow it down some.
We can nurture this process by opening ourselves to God/Spirit.
Surrendering the process to the Wisdom of Spirit creates the most awesome outcome.

The Portal

Portals, or gateways, are places in our lives where we are extended an invitation to step into 'something else'.
This can be related to our work in the world such as medicine, nursing, housekeeping, plumbing.
This can also be related to 'who' we have been as opposed to 'who' we might become.
In the past, we might have been timid and more introspective.
The portal may represent an invitation to be extroverted and outrageous.
We may have been focused more on our own healing and now we are being given an invitation to focused more outwardly on the healing of others.
We may have been entwined in a small circle of friends and family and the portal invites us to widen our circle to include a larger world view.

The portal is an invitation.
It is not a demand.
It is not a forced pathway.
It simply asks us to consider a different way of being.
It asks us to wonder about other aspects of ourselves and our world that have not yet been travelled.
It asks us to take a journey into aspects of our being that are unrealized but are beckoning to us.

Sometimes we have such a sense of knowing about what is next that we choose to leap forward with a strong sense of surety.
Sometimes we sense that we are being asked to wonder first about what this new future holds for us and for the world and consciously choose a particular path.

Whichever the condition, the portal is a wonderful opportunity.
The opportunity is there to go beyond, to stretch further, to open wider.
It is an opportunity to know other dimensions of ourselves and others.
It is an opportunity to expand our service.

Sometimes our decision is to move through the portal and grasp this new ring of opportunity.
Sometimes we choose to stay put where we are and wait until another portal presents
itself to us.
The beauty of our existence in this world is that we can choose.
Every choice carries blessings and challenges.
We can learn in either direction.
One often results in further soul growth and the other allows us more time to ripen.

Right now, our Earth, asks us to consider strongly what is before us.
It asks us to give wider consideration to what is going on in the world around us and to the Earth Herself.
It asks us to be aware of the needs of others and the service opportunities that abound.

Wonder about what portals are before you right now.
Which door will you choose... door number 1, door number 2, or door number 3,...or....

ReBirth

Easter is quickly approaching us.
Easter is a time of rebirth.
It is a time of thanksgiving.
It is a time of remembrance.

The egg, that is so much a part of the Easter celebration, reminds us of
new life coming forth.
We can begin to sense the possibilities of the potentials that are upon us.
We can sense the opportunities that have never been before, now approaching us.

The egg holds a promise.
The promise is the same for each of us and it is different.
The promise is a type of unfoldment.
It is an opening 'out' of that which has been within for some time.

It wants to be anticipated.
It wants to generate within us the excitement of where this can go.
It asks us to rev up our imagination to 'see' bigger and wider and deeper.
It teases us and suggests we risk more.
It senses that this is what we have truly wanted for some time.
And now, the time is right...the time is ripe.

How fun 'becoming' is.
How natural a process that has occurred within us so very many times.
Yet, how new it is, each time it is begun again.

What a gift to be able to wonder about how it might be different, more wild, more wooly, more in sync with who we truly are as Spirit, this time.

Be Wise...

This sweet little bush is a Barbary plant.
It is currently on the endangered list.
It is indiginous to the California area but there are very few of these bushes left in the wild.
A friend who has been a real 'caretaker' of the land, planted one of these 'back' into nature.
His father had been growing smaller plants in his backyard that had been off-shoots of a larger plant that had been in the wild.
When the plants got large enough to survive on their own, he would replant them in the wild.
This little Barbary is doing quite well.
The reason is that this man regularly watches over the plant and makes sure that it gets just exactly what it needs to thrive.
There was a period of several months where he was out of commission.
He developed cancer and had to have multiple surgeries.
Several of us became concerned about the little Barbary and knew how much it meant to him that it survive and thrive.
So we decided to visit the little bush regularly and 'love it' as Phil had been.
We 'fussed' amongst ourselves as to what was the right amount of water and the right amount of pruning.
We had good intentions, but we didn't truly understand the needs of this
special bush like Phil, the caretaker, did.
Several times, we almost killed the little bush.
But, somehow it survived in spite of us.
Thank goodness, Phil recovered from his illness and has returned to tend the special bush.
Those of us who 'stood in for him' on this very important mission were reminded of the importance of wisdom.
Good intentions did go a long way.
But what would have been best is a combination of good intentions and great wisdom.
We learned that good intentions alone can destroy unknowingly.
True healing incorporates both intention and wisdom.

Hold On Lightly...

It isn't really necessary to hold on to things or people with a 'vice grip'...
But we often do.
It isn't necessary to squeeze the life out of something to enjoy it.
But we often do.
It isn't necessary to wrestle something or someone to the ground in order to have a relationship with it.
But we often do.

When we look to Mother Nature and the gentle way all things and beings interrelate, there is a true beauty in the way there is respect for each other's space.
There is an acknowledgment of the sovreignty of each and all things.
There is respect for taking only what you need and leaving the rest for others to share.
There is an abundance philosophy that pervades natural life.
There is a sense that there is a bigger picture that all created things belong to...a larger story...a grander view.
Everything is seen in its relationship to everything else.
No one thing or being is more important that the other.
Respect, honor, gratitude is the basis of being.

Mother Nature speaks to us of Heaven...
Heaven is already among us...
The Heaven that She has created is what wants to be created in our work worlds, our family worlds...in all of our relational worlds.
Mother Nature is just waiting for us to 'get it'...
Hopefully, She won't have to wait much longer.

That Was a Tough Flight...

Sometimes our take-offs are tough.
Sometimes our landings are tough.
Sometimes the flight itself is a bit turbulent.
That's the way life is.

Sometimes our wings get tattered.
The thought of trying to take-off again can be daunting.
The ground feels pretty good when you are a quart low.
But that's where the transformative power of Spirit comes in.
It's never too late to begin again....never....
There is always a way to 'dig' out of the current 'state of the union' and climb above the way things have become.

So, where to begin...?
First, grasp onto the power of intention.
Write yourself a whoppin' powerful intention that defines what you want to do or be or both.
Second, put some energy behind it.
Use the power of prayer and meditation to begin seeing and feeling this intention fully realized.
Third, listen carefully to how Spirit is guiding you to act and do your part in its realization.
Fourth, create visuals to remind you of your intention...
Fifth, check in regularly with your Spiritual Director or Coach to help you keep on track.
When you are in the process of major re-formation, a spiritual director/coach can make the difference between a nose dive and smooth sailing.
Sixth, live as though it is already realized. Hold nothing back.
Seventh, create a 12 month plan to ensure sustainability with the 'new you'.
What will you do each month to help you move closer and closer to your intention.
See your own metamorphosis happening right before your eyes.
Eighth, celebrate each movement, each risk taken, each hurdle overcome, no matter the size, or outward significance.

And, by the way, the butterfly in the picture above, did take off and continue its work in the world, dancing on flower-tops, sharing its beauty with the world.