The Call

In the words of Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday, May 28, 2010

Good Thoughts For Friday ~ Making a Shift

I am sharing this because ordinarily I might chew on this bone all summer or at the very least a month or a week. It would take awhile and alot of 'gnashing of teeth" before I would be able to make a shift. (that is what I recently learned - I am a grinder and a clincher and that has really had an affect on my teeth and now my dentures) With regard to my teeth and finding out two weeks ago that I needed $1750.00 in dental work, it took less than 12 hours to make a shift in thinking (with the help of our dear friend, Sally). After we recovered from the shock of the bill we went to gloom and doom. I think this is a habit!

We found out yesterday that these folks are going to put this house on the market this summer so our "permanent" long term housesit may be coming to an end. With regard to this housesit, possibly ending before next fall, it took less than 24 hours with help from our dear friends. Larry & I are very grateful. Yesterday morning I was running around doing my version of "Chicken Little". Larry will tell you that I am very good at playing "Chicken Little" (see notes below). Thank you God, thank you Universe, thank you everyone who helped us in this shift of consciousness!

Old way of thinking..... oh, my goodness what are we going to do NEXT October. Keep in mind, this house may not sell and we may come back here next October! Only God knows!

Old Charlotte: Let's worry about it all summer. Let's chew this bone to pieces.

Larry: Let's worry about it occasionally - Larry has always been better than me at this faith and trust thing (except when I was sick for all of those years). Then he took his turn laying awake night after night.

Now, I may have given up this "where are we going to live" worry at some point. It would be like the child that gets tired of touching the stove and getting burned, so I would finally "cease and desist".

New thoughts for Friday - As I was writing in my journal this morning I wrote "we found out yesterday that they are going to put this house on the market this summer". What does that mean? Who knows? I always want my ducks in a row but the fact is that, who knows where the ducks are and even if I get them in a row they often fly off. It is a constant struggle trying to keep them lined up. So, what good does it do me to try to keep lining them up all the time?

We probably won't know what is going on with this house until sometime next September. That is 4 months away! Do I want to worry about this situation, this unknown situation for 4 months??? NO!!!

We are headed to California once the census ends and we finish with our business in Oregon. We are going off to work at Tofte Ranch and go gold prospecting and camping and backpacking (as far as we know) and who knows what else! We are very excited!

By next September, maybe we won't even want to come back to this house! By then we may have found 3 pounds of gold or our websites might be generating a nice income, or maybe we will want to go to Arizona or Nevada prospecting or maybe we will want to go down to Southern California to work with our web master, marketing guru, mentor and teacher. Who knows??? Maybe we'll come back up here to get our own place. So many things could happen between now and then. So many things......

Let go..... follow the thread.... be quiet ..... be stilll..... it is all happening in a perfect way. We can't wait to see what is going to unfold as the days pass! YES! This or something better. Thank you God! Thank you God! Thank you God!

 Interesting facts about "Chicken Little"!

The Sky Is Falling, better known as Chicken Licken, Henny Penny or Chicken Little is an old cumulative tale and fable about a chicken (or a hare in early versions) who believes the sky is falling. The phrase, "The sky is falling," has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating an hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.

The origin of the story is usually associated with many of the Aesop's Fables, The basic motif and many of the elements of the tale can also be found within the Daddabha Jataka (J 322). The Jatakas comprise a large body of folklore dating from around Gautama Buddha's time (6th century BC) to the third century AD. However, this ancient version features a hare as the central character rather than a chicken, and the wise protagonist is a lion (the Bodhisattva or future Buddha).[

Depending on the version, the moral changes. In the "happy ending" version, the moral is not to be a "Chicken", but to have courage. In other versions the moral is usually interpreted to mean "do not believe everything you are told". In the latter case, it could well be a cautionary political tale: The Chicken jumps to a conclusion and whips the populace into mass hysteria, which the unscrupulous fox uses to manipulate them for his own benefit, sometimes as supper.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Shadow Spirits


"Our Father is the Sky!
Our Mother is the Earth!
Our Life is our song!
May our Songs Create joy!
May our Children always Smile."
Two Feathers

Mother Father God, I thank you for this morning......the dew, the golden light and gentle breeze that greets me this day. The lilting notes of the songbird. It is a blessed and glorious day.

Why do we choose to make things feel bad.....feel hard.... with our thoughts and words? These negative thoughts and words take a blessed endeavor and turn it into a hard and unfulfilling task. I am reminded of "yard work". I love to spend time in the out-of-doors tending the plants, gathering the crops, pulling the weeds, tilling the soil, smelling the sweetness of what grows there but as soon as I turn it into "work" it becomes a chore instead of a meditation......my special time of being with Mother Earth. Why do I do that? Do I need to slave and suffer for a reason? Why cannot I take pleasure from this task? I see that I do this with many of the daily tasks of life. Why? Where does this self-talk come from that makes it hard? Why does life have to be hard? Who made up that rule? And, must I believe it?

I think of food and eating. Why do we use "good" or "bad" to describe the act and experience of eating food. If we eat too much, it is neither good nor bad. We ate too much and now we feel discomfort. That is all. Perhaps we will choose not to do that again and perhaps we will. If we choose those foods that give us pleasure why is it bad? Food gives us pleasure and I am thankful for that gift.......the cold melting sweetness of ice cream as it touches my tongue, the smell and taste of roasted meat cooked over the fire, the fragrance of the ripe peach picked fresh from the tree. These are all gifts. I am grateful for the gift of the food which I will eat this day to nurture my body and spirit .....and I am thankful to all of those who labored to make these gifts available to me.

I live in my body temple. My spirit resides here and experiences the earth because of this temple. When the body is no more, the spirit will leave. I will choose to eat and drink of that which nourishes me and makes me strong today.

I use these words of judgement and condemnation with regard to many of my thoughts and actions. Why? Why must I judge myself so harshly? Why must I make myself feel bad? Who are these shadow spirits who whisper in my ear? My judge and jury, whom I allow to condemn me for my thoughts and actions. These spirits would hold me in this place.

I was taught as a young child to listen for the shadow spirits by the shadow people who were in my life. The voices whisper in my ear from their perch on my shoulder....seeking to climb into my mind, heart and spirit and pull me back into the darkness with the other shadow spirits. They do not like change......They do not like being in the light. If I shine my light upon them, they will return to the darkness.

A few days ago I picked up pen and paper and wrote about these shadow spirits...... each time they spoke to me I wrote down the date, time and the words in my notebook. I continued to write throughout the day .....each time the critic, judge and jury spoke to me of my thoughts and deeds, I wrote it down. This shadow did not like that the world could see what I was listening to. Is it male or female? Mine seems to be more male. It is the compilation of all the voices that spoke to me when I was small.......the voices of those who could not escape from their own shadow spirits. It is my showdow self that has learned to live in that darkened world. They would judge me and tell me I was not good enough.......they would have me believe that I could not escape the darkness. I gave them power for all these years by listening but I have taken away the power by writing it down. By shining my light on their words, I have driven them back into the dark shadows. It is strange, for I now feel something like love emanating from the darkness ....and some fear. Is it the love of my mother who could not escape from her darkness? Is it her fear of what will happen to me if I live in the light? That brings me to this page and this place.

There are other spirits and guides waiting for me to now....they are loving, caring energy spirits waiting to speak.....They have been waiting for me to stop listening to the voices in the shadows. They are from the Greater One. They say "You are good, you are a child of the One. Be all that you can be. You are capable of so much more than you could ever imagine. Thank your shadow spirits for what they have taught you, for it is only by traveling through the darkness that you can come to the light. You no longer have need of their words or their judgement AND you no longer have need of the darkness."

I choose to let go and move into the light of Love. I am good....you are good.....I am loved......you are loved......I have let go of the past that would hold me. Let go of your past as well. Be in this moment......let love and all that is good enfold you. We came here with a song to share......begin to sing your song today.

"May my life be my song and may my song create joy".