Pruning your landscape

Pruning your landscape.

I am sure you have all at some point in your lives tended a garden, or a flower bed or a bunch of bushes on your property, or at the very least cared for a flower. When part of the shrubbery or the flower or a tree dies, we feel a sense of sorrow.Yet healthier maintenance of the botanical life may have avoided their end result. Caring for these plants is  not easy and takes great patience, love and compassion. It instills a primal nature within us of caring, which can be applied to our lives as well. Take for example a bonsai  tree plant. Years of dedicated trimming, pruning, adjusting branches, careful watering and sunlight exposure all eventually reveal a beautiful miniature tree, with elegant branches and strong leaves. Not an easy undertaking, trust me I have tried. The process of maintenance is rather a spiritual journey for the plant and for you in turn. It survives as you are in the moment, aware, alert and focussed on your task of care, and you in turn are  rewarded by being in the moment and being aware of your task at hand, and so appropriately trim the correct foliage, and preserve the delicate balance needed for survival. 

Apply this little bonsai tree to your life. It knows the elements needed for survival namely sunlight, water, soil nutrition and the nurturing hand of the gardener, you. Now imagine this tree is you. The universe happily will provide in abundance all the elements that you need to "survive". I would argue that everything you need is already present for you in the here and now. What you need to" live" is in your hand. Pruning away the dead or dying foliage is key. If you do not do this simple practice on a regular basis you will end up in overgrown weeds, top heavy branches, and general ill health of your plant ergo your spirit. Trimming back the dying leaves and branches are symbolic for you to trim away your prejudices, your unforgiven encounters, your jealously, your myopic judgments and your unresolved fears. Giving way to the tree leaves to "breathe" is essential as your spirit in kind breathes freer air of compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, and endurance.

As a gardner trims back the branches and shapes the shrubbery, you too must shape your mental and spiritual landscape. Shape your life into one of decency, character, beauty, respect and integrity. You can do this with the same insight that a gardener has as he or she envisions what they would like their garden to look like. So too you can modify your ego and portray what you wish your garden or spiritual Self chooses to reveal. Using your life's experiences to bring about the necessary pruning to your mind is a helpful tool as you know what you can and cannot trim. Do not be afraid of getting on your knees and getting your hands dirtier as you get to the bottom of the dead roots and yank them out. The deeper you  go in meditation, the deeper you will find old fears, troubles, worries that have prevented you from growing outward and upward. Continuously be mindful of your thoughts and aware of the shape your mind, spirit and consciousness takes on as you tend your garden of the soul.

Today is a beautiful day to take out your shears and have fun pruning. 

Updating your software

Updating your software

We ( our spirits ) are born with a freshly installed software package right out of the box. Over the course of time this  software gets corrupted with false ideas, hurtful beliefs and obsolete notions just like  cookies, spam, and miscellaneous out of date versions. In later years your mind gets slower to process and adapt to changing times, and the hardware and the software become incompatible. Newer applications of life situations are unable to run on your archaic version of software of your mind. 

Within your spirit you have been programmed with beliefs of others such as "you are not good enough", " you won't mount to much", "you are too small, too weak, too uneducated, too poor, not good looking enough", or " you cannot do this or you cannot do that". We then forcibly exist in  our lives being confined within our vision of ourselves as seen  by others. Yet one day something glorious happens and we get awakened to realize that our lives are not to be confined but be celebrated. Our spirit is more than the sum of the negative comments that we have brought about, however quite the opposite. We are beings of light confined in physical form and we have the abilities to do anything that we choose to accomplish. We then  have to find a better operating system to help manage the new software that we must reinstall. 

Reprogramming your mind with affirmations of being empowered, being rejuvenated, being all that you choose to be and can be, will usually jump start your spirit and energy to  new high heights, accommodating your true reality. It is all about upgrading your mental and spiritual software. Granted this may take some time as various negative ideas have been deeply hidden inside your "computer" or your Self, so you must be patient with yourself during the reinstallation and reformatting process. Additionally, many a time viruses have been downloaded and taken root hold of your software. I think it is time to use more powerful anti-virus software with more focussed meditative techniques with stronger feelings of acceptances of positive ideals. Put up your "firewalls" with understandings of gratitude, compassion and forgiveness and see your new software programs soar to faster speeds. Higher frequency energies are awaiting to be harnessed as more interesting life experiences are waiting for your new operating system to handle.

Having difficulty updating your software? Call upon your spiritual tech support. 

Troubleshooting your life

Trouble shooting your life

Tough decisions. Resolute ideas. Puzzling questions. Enlightening answers. We go through this seemingly endless list of door stops with the intervening "Aha" moments in our days and our lives. Sometimes these "stop and go" events are presented to us by ourselves or by other people and circumstances beyond our control. My thought on this has been consistently not of the mindset that the questions or even the answers are more important, yet  rather how we compose ourselves during these moments. It is the choices that we take in the heat of the moment that determine our course. Our frame of mind if calm and always in the present will affect the course change that we most desire. If not then the hurried and rushed choices will probably backfire or not take us to the correct destination. 

Life's complexities are challenges to be overcome and not obstacles to be avoided. It is when we have to face our fears and instill the peace within the storm that we have the greatest results. The cumulative experiences of our lives gives us character, yet it is the trouble shooting in our lives that earns us the wisdom and courage. Most of the time challenges are a good thing, as under pressure we are tested to see how we will shape up forthe brighter future that lays ahead. These challenges on some sub conscious level are inserted into our experiential panel by our Selves to see what happens. When you take a piece of carbon and put it under extreme pressure a diamond may come out. So too is the idea that under pressure something spectacular is waiting to come out of all of us.

Yes and no. Take the risk or play it safe. Accept or decline. Move forward or stay where you are. We spend so much of time analyzing each decision before we take it and then invariably are never  satisfied with the plan at hand. This is not troubleshooting. To borrow a term from a friend, this is "monkey minding" your life. Trouble shooting needs a modicum of faith splashed in with a spoon of courage and dosed with a pinch of focus to bring about the clarity of thought that will help make smoother decisions. You can always call upon help from physical sources of friends or family and of course from your Source to assist you in your endeavors. You can chisel  your life into  a beautiful masterpiece or neglect it and let it become a mountain of unhappiness. It depends on your choice and your trouble shooting skills. 

Hard time troubleshooting? Consult your spiritual trouble shooting manual.

Clocks don't bring back tomorrow

Clocks don't bring tomorrow

It is 5pm somewhere. This phrase is a common colloquialism for "hope work time is over" as it is time to party, perhaps have a drink, and relax. Whatever the time it is always the time shown on a clock of the present time. It is will not show you the time that just went past nor the time of the future. By trying to speed up your clock hands you unfortunately do not bring  tomorrow into the present nor can you reverse the clock and bring back a prior time zone. It is the mind that continues to trick us in living in the past or the future except the present where you are most needed.

If there is something that you dread doing the hands on the clock travel with such lethargy that it will feel like an eternity. If you are happy and looking forward to some event or some persons arrival, or engaged in a happy space in your life (like a holiday) usually the hands of the clock will traverse with such expedience that you may feel gipped. In either case what is happening is that time remains constant, and the clock simply is showing you the PRESENT measurement of elapsed intervals from one moment to the next.  It is your mind that bends this measurement with false feelings and gets you to wish that time would stop, slow down, speed up into tomorrow or simply reverse in many cases. 

The illusion is easily dispensed with when one starts to live in the present moment of time, and  not wishes for a past event to return or be erased, or for that matter something that is going on at the moment to be sped up or similarly trying to pre-pone an event tomorrow. Controlling your mind is the key to coming out of this illusionary state. Yet the mind is not easily going to be controlled or dealt with in a haphazard fashion. It refuses to be tossed aside while you "meditate" and feel like you regain control of time. A better way is to simply accept the mind for its nature, fickle or otherwise, and follow an easier method of eventual mental control. This is your breath. If you shift your awareness to your breathing and feel the sensations as you inhale and exhale you become automatically more aware of the moment and politely ask the mind to participate in your new time management endeavor. 

Gently breathing in and out can be used as our portable tool of awareness and once effectively  used, can greatly aide in letting us feel the present moment and the passage of time. Once centered we are not required to change the perception of time to suit any purpose offered by our minds. Clocks do not bring back yesterday and nor do they bring forth tomorrow. Clocks are a reminder to stay in the present moment and have the time of your life.

Excuse me please, do you have the current time?

Opposites attract

Opposites Attract

Throughout the universe we have innumerable examples of polarities of objects, forces and energies, all of which have their exact opposite. A positive for a negative, light and dark, male and female, big and small, hot and cold, up and down, right and left and so the list goes on. Yet there are plenty of examples of circumstances that come into our lives, some of whom we are most displeased about. It is to this phenomenon  I have tried to explore and shed some understanding. 

Sickness affects everyone, and no one is spared. Yet it is in sickness that only then we can appreciate the qualities of good health . We cry over anything that does not go our way, yet we are overjoyed and elated when things do. When we fall it hurts, only to learn to stand up once again. We are filled with sadness when our hearts are heavy, and happy when our  hearts are lightened. We are afraid of the darkness, and bold when we are in the middle of the light. We look for weaknesses in others, when it is the strength within that we truly seek. We are tortured by the cold only to hope that winter ends bringing warmer and hotter days. 

The issue in my opinion is not about one or the other. I feel it is more about seeking out the balance and the equanimity that brings out the peace and serenity and the eventual indifference to the polarity. That is where the awakening occurs. The negative influence is extremely important so that we can then appreciate the opposite effect, else how could we define one without the other.  You cannot understand life without its equal share of death. How can you possibly fathom the concept of love without the feelings of animosity and of hate . We cannot understand the ideas of sorrow and loss with out the defining moments of happiness and gain. When one comes to the steady state of uniformity and non judgement of either side of any force or emotion, then we actually let go. When this happens we are on the road to bliss. Notice I did not say the destination of bliss, as every time you come to a steady state, there will be something that rears its head to slap us on the wrist and bring down our ego a notch or two so we reevaluate our positions. 

When we face a major disappointment, it is usually vindicated by a success. When we are cut off in traffic by a speedy car, that is when we learn the concept of respecting others. Faced with a struggle, it is only the sweet taste of victory that defines this term. If you see a child trying to learn how to walk for the first time, and note the tough times he or she has to understand the concepts of balance and gravity, is when you yourself appreciate patience. Frustration with co workers or family members who do not follow your thought pearls is in dichotomy with the opposite of when you accept them for who they are and what they  are trying to express. Letting go of an idea that has been festering within you like a thorn in the side, is as liberating as welcoming a more positive notion into your heart. 

The beauty of the system is in its simplicity. Opposites attract. Both directional opposites do come together and enable the understanding to unfold, the experience to manifest and the awareness to permeate your consciousness, allowing your own personal evolution. It is said we come into this world crying while everyone around us are laughing. So too should we not leave this world laughing while everyone around us crying? The irony of opposites here is that we have touched more souls with our existence than we care to count, yet do we bother to count how many souls touch our lives on a daily basis. Do we even realize or are aware of the number of opposites that we face at each moment, each day and each year as we race through our lives without ever touching that trophy of tranquil balance. 

Feeling blue on a rainy day? How do you feel when the sun comes out? 

Being a lightning rod

Being a lightning rod

Lightning, natures swift sword is  wielded without prejudice on anything that is big or small, tall or short, in an open or closed space, regardless of consequence. It is created by polarity of charged particles positive to negative and the literature is filled with examples of lightning striking more than once despite the rumors to the contrary. It is quite the show as the lightning brightens up the night sky with its awesome terrifying spectacle.

Lightning strikes are very much akin to the negativity that we experience as fiery bolts of  anger, hate, jealousy spew out from us in forms of bad thoughts, ill  speech and consequential bad actions. Darting about as quick and as powerful as lightning, our reactions hurt others quickly and fiercely. Similarly we find ourselves the recipients of similar strikes when we have negative thoughts and then get overcome with feelings of guilt, despair and  hatred. We are struck by these emotions and respond in kind. We become the lightning rod for negativity. With out the use of proper grounding tools lightning will prove to us that it does not in fact" not strike  twice" as we continue to get bombarded with these bolts of negativity. 

Dedicated daily  meditation enables the grounding of oneself in humility, patience, and resolution such that we have the fortitude to not be destroyed by the negative impulses that come our way when we are in the unfortunate path of someone else's aim of fire. Lightning occurs randomly even though it appears almost pattern like, as it is always looking to ground itself. So too is the shout out of negativity in its innumerable forms reaching a destination into the recipient. One must develop the grounding rod mentality and be within total peace and calm so if the lightning rod of negativity does hit, it is immediately dispersed away leaving no residual bad energy to enable ill effects. If your grounding rod is full of positive energy then you might be able to in fact repel the lightning altogether since positive to positive charged particles do not conduct any current be it electrical, spiritual or emotional in nature.

Many a time the physical rod is sold in the market with a guarantee and warranty up to a certain wattage and up to a certain financial burden cost in case of damage. The more the cost of these rods the more likely the better insurance they provide, ergo the more likely the protection they offer. So if one is able keep a positive attitude and keep oneself in a state of positivity with grounding of one's Self, you are less likely to sustain damage nor require the use of the insurance policy in the form of your emotionally drained currency. 

How sturdy is your lightning rod? Are you insured?

What is in your rear view mirror ?

What is in your rear view mirror?

Driving along we stay focussed on the road in front of us, and periodically glance at the rear view mirror and the side mirrors to check  our spatial orientation along the flow of traffic. Yet sometimes we get so focussed on checking out the car or the drivers behind us in the rear view mirror that we forget to see the car in front and brake just in time. Or sometimes we forget to even look behind in the rear view mirror, and miss the police cruiser on our tail !  Having a close connection to the past is fundamental in enabling us to move forward into the future. 

A quick glance  in the rear view mirror is needed to keep us centered as we focus on the road ahead. Similarly in life we can spend our lifetime looking back at mistakes made, roads not taken, missed opportunities, ill words spoken in heat and anger to loved ones. It was once told to me that a "moment's regret of the past is a moment stolen from the future." How true when you are driving on the road of life. All too often we spend our days looking in the rear view mirror of our lives with a negative perspective at a variety of experiences that have impacted us adversely. Or at least we perceive them as having affected us adversely, not realizing that many of those experiences and encounters could have been for our good and propelled us forward through the adversity towards a better end. We dwell in the rear view mirror so much that sometimes the only thing that will get us out of that mode is a head on collision with the future. 

The past and the future are all connected by the present. If you are not in the moment then remaining in any of the other time zones will not serve you well in fulfilling your purpose. In other words not being in constant conscious awareness of your self in the present moment  will not help you let go of the past nor will it bring you in to the future. Sometimes being so focussed on what is in front of you while driving and not noticing the rear view is also to your peril. You will miss the speeding car on your tail for which you could have planned ahead and moved into another lane, or judged your speed more appropriately. In this way knowing where you have been is as important as where you are going. 

A friendly mental acknowledgment of the cars next to you also are important as you can gauge your position in time and space. Interestingly you will notice that if you have matched your speed and position with the car next to you, the experience of timelessness briefly unfolds. Very different than the experience of moving forward or noting what is behind you. Ergo get to know your life circumstances at your level, be it in the form of friends, family, or life in general. The windshield is big for a reason, so you can stay alert and be fully aware of your navigation into the future. The rear view mirror is small also for a reason, in that you know your past but are not so stuck in the past that you do miss what is in front. The police car waiting to catch you for speeding should be yet another reminder that on the road of life, the universe will intervene to slow you down, slap you on the wrist and have you reset your accelerating heavy foot. 

One eye on the front, one eye on the back and your third inner eye on the moment is one way of driving. Just don't drive with all your eyes closed.