On The Wings of Dreams

Meditation

I thought I should finally come clean. In reality, I believe all this spiritual nonsense is a bunch of hooey. It’s a waste of time to smudge or meditate or care about your fellow humans. And what about all this stupid playing with rocks, like there is something special about them? Come on, people, wake up to reality! It’s a dog eat dog world and if you aren’t looking out for number one, then you’re just a schmuck!

April Fools!!!!!!

Of course those are not my views at all. In fact, this month I’m going to focus on one of the most important spiritual tools we have – meditation.

I’m often surprised by people’s reactions when I mention meditating as a possible practice to help them find peace, happiness or just general well-being. It seems that meditation has a reputation for being an esoteric and mystical thing meant only for gurus on a mountain top.

Far from it!

Meditation is both a practice and an attitude. And, just like learning a musical instrument or even learning algebra, it takes some discipline and some time to get to that place where it clicks and you are playing a song or solving an equation.

I had let my meditation practice slip and slide away for a while, but in the past few months I’ve reincorporated it into the end of my yoga practice. After some time away, I can’t understand why I ever stopped and let resistance get the better of me. Now, receiving those benefits that only come with meditation, I thought it was a perfect time to discuss it a bit.

While meditation does have deeper spiritual meanings that focus on the release from suffering for all beings and detachment from the ego, it also has a personal aspect, and that’s what we are exploring here.

When approaching something new, the best place to start is at the beginning, and the beginning of meditation practice is breath. If you are interesting in learning to meditate, don’t go rushing off to a cushion and try to sit still with an empty mind for an hour. Very few people can jump right in and create a meditation practice on the first go.

Instead, begin by noticing your breathing throughout each day. Take three slow deep breathes whenever you think of it. Do this repeatedly for a few weeks, and you’ve got a foundation upon which to build.

After you’ve spent some time learning to focus on your breath while engaging your normal routine, it’s time to take it to the next step. This is akin to slowing entering a pool of cold water rather than jumping in all at once.

You don’t need a cushion. A chair or the floor will do just as well. It does help to find some solitude. Somewhere quiet where you will not be interrupted and where the atmosphere is soothing. Light some incense or candles if you like. It’s also wonderful to burn sage (aka – smudge) first, as it sets a tone and helps to ground you. Also, try siting outside when the weather is good. We are not, however, going to be here that long this first time. Set yourself a goal of 5 or 10 minutes to begin.

Sit quietly and again, focus on your breathing. Notice your inhalations and exhalations with calm attention. Attempt to quiet your thoughts. Inevitably, a thought will, however, arise. That’s what the mind does, it makes thoughts, so don’t judge yourself. Give the thought a nod and then watch it float away. Don’t hold onto it, and return your attention to your breathing. Thoughts will continue to arise. Continue to let them arise and pass away, always returning to your breath.

As those wise in the ways of meditation know, it can be a good idea to listen to the same music and/or burn the same incense, each time you meditate. Your senses remember sounds and smells so very well, it helps facilitate the meditation by signaling to your subconscious “it’s time to meditate.” Eventually just lighting your meditation incense or putting on your meditation CD will begin to promote a meditative state immediately. Similarly, don’t use that particular music or incense for other activities, especially driving!

Finally, many of us find that crystals can facilitate meditation. A really fun thing to do is visit a shop that sells crystals and spend some time holding different ones until you find one that creates a sense of calm and peace. Or perhaps you already have a collection of crystals and you might spend time with each one in meditation until you find one that resonates with your practice.

In a perfect world, you would meditate every day, gradually increasing the time from 5 minutes, to 10 minutes, to 15 minutes, etc … but in our busy lives, that isn’t always possible. Yet to make progress, you’ve also got to make a commitment. So be realistic when setting your meditation goals, but stick to them. Two or three times a week is often enough to see steady, reliable progress.

The experience is somewhat different for everyone, but eventually you will notice that you have extended periods of time where your thoughts do not intrude. Even from the first, you are likely to finish your meditation with a feeling a lightness and a lessening of burden. After some time and practice, you can arise from a meditation practice feeling as if you’ve just had a good night’s sleep. Rested and alert.

There are also interesting and wonderful side-effects from a meditation practice. When your mind is still and you are centered in yourself, you often receive ideas and insights that are quite wonderful. Insights that can’t break through your normal mind chatter and have been hovering around just waiting for you to get quiet.

Occasionally you may also experience spontaneous dreamlike visions of an archetypal nature that cannot only be quite beautiful, but informative as well. These may not be the goals of a meditation practice, but they are some of the benefits.

For some people it helps to use mantras to keep the mind from obsessing on its usual worries and concerns. There are plenty of mantras you can use from different traditions, but you can also make up your own.

There is the most famous mantra of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Om mani padme hung, which is quite beautiful orally, and very popular among meditators. For more mantras of this nature, there is a great wikipedia article on mantras if you’d like a more in depth explanation. These mantras have great spiritual significance and are rooted in deep traditions, but for the beginner it may be simpler to create one. Think of a mantra as a one sentence prayer, such as “May I bring light to the world this day,” or something of that nature.

The most important thing when taking on a meditation practice is to not judge yourself. Be as gentle and kind to yourself as you would to someone very dear to you. Meditation is not a quick fix, it is part of a lifestyle that promotes peace, well-being and healing not only for yourself, but as the Buddhists put it, to all beings.

A meditation practice is a wonderful journey, which can add many new dimensions to your life. I know I’ve quoted it here before, but I’d like to end with the Metta prayer, which although not a true mantra, I have used in meditation practice many times.

May all beings be peaceful
May all beings be happy
May all beings be safe
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature
May all beings be free!

Peace-
Tee

photo of Tee meditating by Grace Liggett 2001

Changing Times

March 2009

Let’s start with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.

It is actually normal for life to be difficult during times of great change.

Here’s another quote – that old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.

Well, we do! So although the sands may be shifting under our feet, there is always the chance for something wonderful to be born in such times.

Possibilities and opportunities abound more than ever when the paradigms are shifting. What once worked fractures and dies away, but before a new way comes to fruition, there’s quite a bit of struggling about with each other. There are aspects of the old ways that we don’t want to lose, and rightly so. We question how we might translate them into a new world view.

There are old destructive patterns that we know must go, but that some of us seem to cling to even more fiercely. It can be a challenge to understand why. It usually comes down to the known feels safe, even when it isn’t. The unknown throws us into what is not expected, and therefore we must trust in ourselves to negotiate our way through.

How do we do that? There are several helpful measures we might take. One is, when everything is in flux, it is even more vital that we act out of a sense of honesty and integrity. When we don’t create falsehoods and fabrications in our lives, there is less complexity for us to cope with. The answer always remains the same, because the answer is the truth. There’s less mental effort wasted and much more ease of being on a day to day basis. Of course, this is always true – but it becomes absolutely necessary during changing times.

The next helpful measure I’ll offer to you anecdotally. A friend was recently laid off from his job in lighting sales. Even though the company promises him a return to work within a few months, this friend is not sure he wants to go back. He sees the opportunities arising for him as we begin to seriously addressing our energy situation. Lighting is an integral aspect of energy conservation and use. Here is a chance for him to engage the new, what is barely just beginning, and get it on the ground floor. Not only could this help him in his private life and in his career, but it also helps us all if he participates in his livelihood by improving our use of energy through better more efficient means.

We can look at what our new priorities are and attempt to adjust our lives to thrive in new situations.

Here’ yet another old saying: “the only thing you can count on is change.”

It’s a good one to take to heart. When we release our expectations and are willing to see positive possibilities within the shifting patterns, we create the perfect environment for good things to happen.

Rob Brezney (www.freewillastrology.com) is always fond of saying how much the Universe is attempting to shower us with love and blessings. Rob is one of my heroes!

Even when the news is mostly bad about failing economies and job losses and rising costs, can you manage to clear that from your vision so that you might see what the boons are? What graces are replacing those losses?

I’ll use a metaphor from physics, now. There is a principle that states that energy is never lost, but only changes form. It’s call the Conservation of Energy. My point is that even when there seems to be a lot that is slipping away, that we are losing, there is much to be gained. To be found. To be renewed.

A combination of imagination and clear sight (you can add a pinch of steadfastness, here) can lead to all sorts of new and interesting ways to love and live and learn our lives. Structures that become unstable must be rebuilt. Here’s our chance, right here and now.

So as the days unfold and the pundits sound off about their thousands of varying and increasingly dismal news stories about what’s happening in the world, take the precious time to see for yourself what is uplifting, what can be mended and what must be released.

Let’s have a little faith, a little trust in ourselves, and keep our eyes open and our minds receptive.

Therein lies the strength and beauty of being human.

Peace,
Tee

Crystal Buddies

Considering that On the Wings of Dreams Shop has, for the second year in a row, donated a percentage of crystal sales to the local Audubon Society, I thought this an appropriate month to write a Reflections on this theme.

Just why are we so attracted to these lumps of rock and stone? Other
than the obvious reason of many of them being quite beautiful.
There’s nothing like a sparkling amethyst or shimmering moonstone to
delight us visually.

But these bits of our planet have an appeal that goes beyond the
visual. Many of us have had the experience of placing one in our palm
and feeling the energy race up our arm and directly into our minds and
hearts.

Many types of crystals have unusual properties used in science and
technology. Things like computers, ultrasound devices and watches.
Yet here in Reflections we attempt to focus on the spiritual.

What is our spiritual connection to crystals and gems?

Books have been written on this subject, and provided reasons and
interpretations. There is, however, nothing like personal experience
to let us know just how special they are. While books can be useful,
each person tends to resonate differently with particular stones.

The anecdotal often helps to explain a point. One crystal I resonate
with is Sugilite – a mostly deep purple stone found in only a few places in the world.

This stone is known for its ability to aid those whose nature is
particularly spiritual to exist materially. It’s also recommended for
use by people with migraines. I did not know about either of these
qualities before I was attracted to sugilite. Sure, I like the color
purple, but it was holding one in my hand that blew me away. The
soothing quality of this stone, at least to me, is remarkable.
Interesting that I also suffer from migraines.

I often speculate that just as plants and animals hold a particular
kind of consciousness that humans often find difficult to understand,
so does the mineral world. Our communication and exchanges with these
other kingdoms is not scientific in the usual sense. Instead, the
connection seems transverbal and mysterious.

It’s somewhat easier to understand our feelings toward plants and
animals, as they are life-forms. But what of minerals, that don’t fit
our definitions of life? They don’t breathe, or reproduce or even
move! At least not without a mudslide or earthquake to help them
along. And yet they call to us. We can feel their power and energy
at intuitive levels.

Because the “why” of this is unanswerable, let’s focus on how we can
use them to enrich and enhance our lives.

Here, we can get just a little bit scientific in our methods, in that
we can experiment. Place a stone in your palm and close your eyes.
Focus your awareness on the place where skin and stone meet. Do you
feel heat? Cold? Perhaps a tingling (very common). Stay with this,
and don’t hurry. Notice where the sensations change and move.

Move the crystal to your throat or your third eye. Do the sensations
change? How about your emotions, your state of being? What’s
happening there? Quiet your mind and your thoughts and just notice
what is happening.

Although there are many wonderful, energetic stones that you can
purchase, you can do this experiment with seemingly regular rocks you
find out in nature. Some of my favorite stones have been found this
way. It’s the connection that matters. They do become your buddies.

Working with stones you might notice that you are more attracted to
certain crystals at different times of day, different seasons,
different phases of your life. Once you become familiar with how you
react to a particular crystal, you can reach for it whenever you feel
a need of its energy.

Having crystals around the house for their visual beauty and their
energetic properties can benefit us all in many ways. And I can’t
help but think that the crystals themselves enjoy this exchange with
us. Connection and communication with the plant, animal and mineral
kingdoms helps us to heal and sustain our world. We are, after all,
not alone on this planet. We share it with some very interesting
“others”.

Peace,
Tee

p.s. here is a cool and related link:

A New Year

Contemplative, reflective. The death of the old gives birth to the new, once again.

Yes, it is a celebration, and for good reason! We’ve made our way through space and time in a circle around the sun. Alright, maybe it’s an elliptical path we travel!

Regardless, the Wheel of the Year has turned, and with it we experience our own ups and downs – our own gains and losses. But here we are, again, embarking on a brand new journey.

And it is new in so many ways. The world has changed at a rapid pace since the dawn of the new millennium, and shows no signs of slowing down. There is a lot to acclimate ourselves to, and even more to integrate. How will we adjust? Cope? Thrive?

How, indeed.

Believe me, I’m not sitting here in my corner of southern Virginia with all the answers. Just like you, I’m listening, watching, waiting to see what possibilities and opportunities open up in the midst of challenges and confusion.

Because they always do so. In fact, I believe that’s just when the best opportunities open up.

What we are looking for are opportunities for healing, for expanded compassion and for true freedom of the mind and spirit.

Basically, to put a stop to all this suffering and truly learn to be human – together.

That’s quite the task for seven billion plus people.

Yet, that’s not quite the whole story. We also must learn to take proper care of all the varied life that supports us. We can’t separate out from it. Personally, I would never want to, but my opinion here is irrelevant. We must. We have no choice.

And therein lies the beautiful opportunity. This is the fertile ground that brings forth our creativity and our noble spirits. Our genius.

Some may argue that when things get tough, the worst parts of human nature arise. That may be true in finite times and places, but always and forever there is a Christ, a Buddha, a Gandhi, a Mohammad – and on and on.

I like to think that maybe there could be seven billion of them here and now – all primed to wake up to their true natures!

Eternal optimism? Hopeless Idealist? If you like. It’s a label I’m comfortable with.

But as I sit here on this eve of 2009, hours away from turning the calender page, I am filled with a dogged and persevering surety of purpose.

Opportunities? You bet!

Here we go.

Peace -
Tee

The Only Peace There Is

Lately we’ve been bombarded with a lot of news, both good and not so good. Some of us are experiencing great difficulties. Some are holding our own, and some are even finding our way. No matter our experience, most of us would like to find a bit of peace to wrap around ourselves and loved ones like pretty paper around a gift.

If you are like me, you may have spent a significant amount of time searching for peace. Wanting it. Frustrated that it is so difficult to maintain. You come upon a bubble of peace suspended in space and time and then POP – the bubble is burst by ___________________ (fill in the blank).

But those moments that appear and disappear like stars shining between swiftly racing clouds allow us to know peace exists. Peace is possible.

Over the past few years I’ve been learning a great deal about the quest for peace. It’s been along haul, as I can be both stubborn and thick-headed. So, I am not surprised that is has taken lots of lessons and even more contemplation for any kind of understanding to come. What I have learned is that you never find peace, you create it. And the irony is that it is often best created through the process of surrender.

But let’s back up a bit. Peace in not a promised land “over there”. In other words, it is not that peace is somewhere you are not and you must get there.

I can hear a thousand voices saying things like, “But what if you live in a war zone?” or “what if there is a hurricane going on?” There are endless variations of “what if”.

Still, I stand by the idea that peace is a potential and the way you “find” or “gain” peace is to create it. Amid all circumstance, you are best effective and endure the least suffering if your inner state of being is peaceful. Otherwise, you get tossed away by fear and your choices and actions are not necessarily beneficial to yourself or others.

My best teachers were those experiences where I was able to create peace within myself while my outward situation was complete chaotic turmoil. My ability to surrender my fear or despair (or sometimes just frustration) allowed me to find room within to create something new – peace.

It’s always about what is inside of us creating our outward experience. Or at least how we experience the outside.

Now this wisdom is not something I came upon through experience alone. No, it has been said by many people in many times and places.

The Buddhists know it. Buddha said “all suffering arises in the mind,” as one of the Four Noble Truths. Mind being the inner space of ourselves. Our consciousness, or our being.

The pagans have their own version in the Charge of the Star Goddess. “And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery, for if that which you seek you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.”

One translation of Christ’s words in the gospel of Luke is “The kingdom of God is within you,” rather than “among you”.

Contemplating these, and other, powerful messages has been part of my work. But the other part has been to observe what happens in my own life when I surrender or let go of, what I think will make me happy and accept what my situation or circumstance actually is. In other words, I stop the fight. Stop the struggle against something. Instead, a smile on my face and in my heart creates an opening for patterns to shift and change. Peace is created.

The process goes something like this: Whatever it is you are caught in, thoughts or feelings or experiences – drop your engagement. Just stop, and look at it as if it does not belong to you. The longer you have been holding it, the more perseverance that is required, but don’t give up. Then smile at it. How could I possibly do that? you might ask. It is so terrible, so frustrating or just plain wrong.

But drop it you must and look at it for just what it is. Smile at is because it is part of being human, no matter what it is. Being human is sad, funny, tragic and beautiful all at once. It deserves your good humor. Smile at it and give it your compassion, which is your humanity. By doing this, which is a form of stepping outside the ego, you engage what the Buddhists call emptiness, the ground of being or true nature. It is from there possibilities arise. Possibilities for change, for healing, for recovery. You don’t look for them, you open to them.

The world will spin and all sorts of things will arise that have the potential to create suffering or unhappiness within us. There is no destination, no set of circumstances that will come together and suddenly everything will be fine and dandy stretching into the far future.

What can happen, however, is that as more and more people create their inner peace, it in turn creates a powerful network, which contains within it the potential for real transformation. We all contribute to this pattern in both obvious and subtle ways, but it is not important that we see immediate results. What is important is that we unlock that powerful love that resides in our hearts, creating the peace that might heal the world.

And so I’ll end this as I always do, but this time know it for what it is – a blessing that you will create your own….

Peace -
Tee

Happy Holidays!

Reflections Extra: A New Path

I think we are all a bit manic after all the excitement leading up to the election. Whatever our feelings about the outcome, there is a lot of emotional energy we are coping with. What to do with it? That’s the question.

Now more than ever it is time to ground ourselves and find our place of peace within. It’s time to reach out to each other in positive ways, not allowing the ideas of winning or losing to get in the way of our positive potentials.

There is a lot of inspiration to work with at this stage of the game. The path to that inspiration is focused, calm attention. It is through inclusive compassion that we can now create the sense of unity we require to move forward.

We came to the crossroads and we made a choice. Now we’ve placed one foot on the new path we have chosen. What is important to remember is it is not only the path that matters, but also the way we keep our hearts as we walk it.

It helps if we can understand that the place in our hearts that feels joy so intensely is the same place that feels grief. They are one in the same at the core. I experienced this first hand upon the death of my father, over a decade ago. In the moments after his passing, I was filled with wrenching grief. I stepped outside into a rainstorm and let the water wash over me. In that small moment in time, I realized that if I did not assign any labels to what I was feeling, that it also felt like joy. That joy and grief were just different sides to the same emotional coin.

That understanding has aided me ever since. When experiencing emotional overload, I have learned it is best not to hold onto it. Send it out as a blessing to all Beings. Releasing that power to the benefit of all has amazing consequences.

Your heart, which was overfilled and threatening to burst, suddenly feels peaceful. Your thoughts do not attach to whatever outcome you have experienced, but instead a dedicated and purposeful empowerment arises. Grace enters in, and your ability to act returns. Overwhelming emotions have a paralyzing effect, which is why compassion is the antidote. Compassion is simply love in action.

I have mentioned the paradox of connectedness/separateness several times in these essays. It is the idea that we each feel alone in ourselves, but at the same time are intricately connected to each other and all of life. By allowing ourselves to feel that connectedness, we open our hearts in ways that heal.

I keep hearing that old Police song in my head, “One World is Enough for all of Us.”
Especially this line: “We can all sink, or we all float, ‘cause we are all in the same big boat.”

Gotta love Sting.

Peace,
Tee

email me @teespirit@gmail.com

Crossroads

I promise you I won’t talk about politics here. The Crossroads theme isn’t just about whom we elect as our next President, although it is certainly a part of it. By now we’ve all heard enough and pretty well know our choice. If you are like me, you might be somewhat overwhelmed by all the political speak at this point!

The Crossroads I’m talking about is a much greater choice than the single leader of one country, even if that country is the United States. We’ve all heard the issues – the environment, our financial institutions, our government and human rights (which includes a whole plethora of issues, like education, health care, etc.).

The choice is about integrity and vision. The choice is whether we choose to become proactive leaders each in our own right. Do we take some responsibility? Do we feel we have any power at all when it comes to how things are done and what choices are made?

The answer is a resounding, YES!

Spiritually speaking, we all walk the paradox of being autonomous versus interconnected. Every day we feel alone in ourselves, and yet we are intimately connected to all life in may ways we never see or feel. That’s changing.

In the coming decades we shall see more and more results of our personal actions and choices as they influence the grand “Big Picture”. The question is, will we step outside of our comfort zones and get involved?

Personally, I am somewhat of an introvert. Don’t get me wrong, I’m friendly and love interactions with others! Really! But I prefer lots of time alone and hate crowds of all kinds. It’s what makes writing such a perfect occupation for someone like me. But, there it is – the comfort zone I need to address. The world needs people of good conscious to be involved – to take some risks!

And here’s the thing – in the end, we can only defeat ourselves. If we truly believe in our ability to heal our world, that is just what we will do. There are no defeats in the life-long path of integrity and compassion. There is just this day, and then the next one. We wake up each morning with the ability to choose our attitude, even if our actions are sometimes preset.

Hope is good. We need hope. But what we need even more than hope is fortitude and perseverance. In my twenties, I expected to have all of my life goals wrapped up by the time I was 35 years old. That seemed plenty of time to me, and I could not imagine waiting decades before I accomplished them. What I’ve learned since then is that we can never control the timing of fruition. It’s the path itself, and the steadfastness of your heart while walking it, that matter.

While none of us might see the results of every choice we make, you can bet that someone will experience those results. Maybe several generations down the line, or perhaps someone half way around the world that you never will meet. Those are the things you can’t control. What we can control is when we come to a crossroads, we search our hearts, dump our self-interest and smile. That’s right, the smile part is very important. It invigorates and energizes each thing we do.

Our next leader will require the support, the commitment and the engagement of the American people. We can’t sit back and allow corruption to be the foundation of our social and economic systems. That is not who we are, and not what our country or our Constitution is found upon.

It’s simple, not special (to quote an old Zen Master). It is the fact that we live our lives, use our voices and hold our commitments with integrity and great compassion that grants our ability to be leaders in a rapidly changing world.

I heard recently that what makes Americans so unique is our creative and entrepreneurial spirit. We are amazing at inspecting a huge proverbial mountain and figuring out a way to climb it. That’s our strength and our gift to the world. Only our complacency can get in the way. Only our silence.

I’ll end with a few good quotes to ponder:

“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.”
H. G. Wells (1866-1946)

“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.”
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936)

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
- Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

“Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.”
- Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Peace,
Tee

Email me @ teepspirit@gmail.com

On Being Human

I may be taking off a bigger bite than I can chew here! Nearly three million years of evolution have brought Homo sapiens to our current level of culture, awareness and technology. Who am I to try to make sense of it?

That becomes the point. I will not attempt to make any sense of it. Most days sense seems very low on the totem pole of human existence. I’m not always entirely sure what we are attempting to accomplish together, but it is apparent we are very busy doing it every day.

To my idealist mind, human priorities seem obvious. Take care of each other, ease suffering wherever possible, steward the planet, create beauty and endure with noble perseverance through all challenges. I did mention that I am an idealist.

Struggles over power and wealth continually confuse me. Sometimes so much so that I feel very much like R. A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. It becomes difficult to relate to others whose priorities are about accumulation and control. Those feelings are in direct conflict with the empirical facts – our DNA proves it! We are all one species, struggling in our billion unique ways to survive and thrive.

Here comes paradox – because the beauty of being human is that we are completely interrelated and connected, while at the same time each unique and alone in who we are. How are we supposed to handle that? Am I my brother’s keeper or not? And just who is my brother? Is it only other humans? Or is it all of the life forms that inhabit this rare and precious planet? And if I am a keeper, what does that mean?

I went to dictionary.com to find out, and here are some of the results:

A person who assumes responsibility for another’s behavior

Unless we are talking about dependent children, I don’t necessarily feel responsible for the behavior of others. After all, they are making their own choices, and don’t consult me before doing so. But, where I am responsible, is in contributing to a society that offers good choices to all people.

A person who is responsible for the maintenance of something

Well, yes. I do feel like a keeper in this way. There are lots of something’s we must maintain in order for life to “run” well.

A person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable

Ah, this is a good one. This speaks to my absolute conviction that we are stewards of this planet. I especially like the “something valuable” part. I would definitely add this definition of keeper to my resume!

A person who conforms to or abides by a requirement

How could any of us possibly get away from this definition? It’s fundamental. It is a requirement that I eat food and breathe air to stay alive. It goes on up from there, all the way to obeying the laws of your society.

Something that lasts well

This one is simple, but perhaps my favorite. I want to be a “keeper” that lasts very well, indeed!

Now let’s get down to the Being part of Human.

There’s a cute little saying out there about a Human Being vs. a Human Doing. But what it represents is actually extremely important. Both are required in some sort of equal balance – yet there seems to be so much more “doing” than “being”. Doing is the active, accomplished part of people that gets the job done. The world moves faster all the time, and we have to keep up with it with lots and lots of doing. The downside of all this doing is the resultant lack of being creates terrible problems.

Being is the part of us that is reflective of our world and ourselves. Being notices dewdrops and sunsets. Being remembers history and doesn’t repeat the same mistakes over and over because being takes the time to integrate what happens in the field of doing. Being creates opportunities to nurture the self, giving it some time and space where new inspiration can arise. All the doing in the world is useless and can lead to big trouble if it isn’t supported by an equal amount of being.

The Great Mystery of human beings won’t be solved by one little essay, of course. The whole history of life is miniscule compared to the vast eons of the universe itself. Personally, I thrive best when I take on the Great Mystery with a sense of adventure and purpose. What’s my role in all this beautiful chaos and confusion?

Well, to be my idealist self, of course! This means holding the principles of Keats’s truth and beauty as much as possible. Most of the time “nobility of spirit” means to me not listening to the pessimists and nihilists that proclaim it is naïve and sophomoric to believe in the great potential of human beings to create our own heaven on earth.

Yes, we have great challenges ahead. No, we can’t control the outcomes completely. Of course not.

But what we can do is live with determined and joyful hearts, each moment of every day.

The rest we can figure out as we go along….

Peace,

Tee

Email me at teespirit@gmail.com

Lucky 13

When I realized this was my thirteenth essay for On the Wings of Dreams, it somehow seemed particularly meaningful. What is it about the number 13? What inspiration was lurking in my subconscious just waiting for the right trigger to release it?

The immediate, prevalent thought was that in our culture, at least, 13 is considered unlucky – so much so that many buildings skip from the 12^th floor to the 14^th! And we all know the superstitions about Fridays that fall on the 13^th of the month.

My muse often works in tricky, subversive ways, so it is no surprise that contemplating the number 13 would lead me into rebellious thinking. I began to think about assumptions and how dangerous they can be.

It is true that much of our experience of reality is shaped by what we expect. As an example, if you buy into the belief that any 13^th of the month that falls on a Friday is going to be an unlucky day, a bad day, you will be primed to notice unlucky things. In other words, at some level, you are looking for them.

Anyone remember the old adage about what happens when we assume? You make an ASS out of U and ME!

Which can lead us to question more of our assumptions; beliefs taught to us by our culture that may be misleading.

Of course, we are entitled to our beliefs, even when they cannot be empirically proven. This is especially true in matters of spirit, which are of the heart, not the head.

But there are other assumptions of a more personal nature that may keep us from health and happiness.

Here is a small example from my own life. I assumed because I am creative (which often means messy!) that I was terrible when it came to discipline and order. This assumption kept me from many things that require commitment and routine. I hated the idea of anything imposed upon me, even if it was imposed by me.

It seemed bad enough that I had to get up everyday and go to work based on someone else’s schedule!

It wasn’t until I questioned my beliefs about organization and discipline, and began to experiment with those qualities in my life, that two wonderful things happened. The first was success in writing a novel. It was the commitment and discipline of four hours a day – everyday – that got the ball rolling.

The second was my yoga practice. Exercise! Yuck! But once I got past my resistance to it, I now look forward to my half hour of yoga like it is a treat. It is a treat – one that I get to enjoy at the same time, everyday.

If I had never questioned my assumptions, both of these things would be missing from my life. That would be a real shame considering the happiness and well being they bring to me.

Therefore – QUESTION EVERYTHING!

It does no harm to revisit what we take for granted with a bit of contemplation. This is appropriate not only in our personal lives, but also in the larger picture of culture. It’s one of the founding principles of this country.

It is especially important now, in this election year, to not make decisions based on sound bites and vague rumors. Question everything! It’s a good motto.

Just for fun, here are some instances where the number 13 is lucky, or at least cool!

Alex Rodriguez, Dan Marino and Wilt Chamberlain all wore the number 13.

There are 13 moons in a year.

There were 13 original colonies that formed the United States.

In Italy, the number 13 is considered to be a lucky.

There are thirteen major joints in your body.

And, one of those aforementioned founders (Ben Franklin, who loved to question everything) came up with thirteen virtues that he tried to put into practice everyday.

1. TEMPERANCE.

Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2. SILENCE.

Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3. ORDER.

Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4. RESOLUTION.

Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

5. FRUGALITY.

Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i. e., waste nothing.

6. INDUSTRY.

Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. SINCERITY.

Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. JUSTICE.

Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. MODERATION.

Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. CLEANLINESS.

Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

11. TRANQUILLITY.

Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12. CHASTITY.

Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

13. HUMILITY.

Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

You don’t have to agree with everything Franklin postulated as virtues, but if they inspire you to question what is virtuous, they’ve done their job!

Peace,

Tee

p.s. Heads up on the Autumnal Equinox, which is on September 22, at 11:44 a.m. eastern.

I’d love to hear from you. Email me at teespirit@gmail.com

Stardust

It’s funny that, as much as I adore the summer months, every year around this time I begin to grow weary of the heat and humidity and long for the cooler breezes and colorful panoramas of autumn. I sometimes think that the autumn is so beautiful just to keep us preoccupied so that we don’t dread the coming winter!

Of course, that’s silly, but that’s me; I love to play ‘let’s pretend’ – to search for meanings and find the patterns.

In that spirit, let’s dance into the land of imagination and metaphor together. Let’s shake off the practical and pragmatic, and fill the Universe with magic.

One thing that helps me to engender this state of mind is to remember that we are Stardust. Before the first stars ever went supernova, the only visible matter in the Universe was hydrogen and helium. It was the death throes of those early stars that created the other elements – nitrogen, oxygen and all the rest – of which life is made. That means, simply put, that every atom in our bodies was created in a sun – a star!

Feeling magical yet?

Here we are, walking around, the reincarnation of actual stars. Wow! Of course, so is every goldfinch and oak tree and blue whale. We are a Stardust family!

Even though this is a truth we can rely upon, it still takes a lot of imagination to feel how precious, how magical, that makes us.

So here we are, ancient stars in new form, living life in all the usual ways, not remembering who we are. But what if we did? What if we remember that the entire 14 or so billion year process of this amazing Universe resulted in making you?

That makes everything you are, everything you do, exquisite and important.

Now usually, we move through life facing challenges, wanting there to be some sense and order to all of life’s craziness. We send prayers out for help and guidance to a great Creator, to spirits and angels. And then, when we have those stretches of time when everything is going well, we forget all about inviting spirit in to influence and aid our paths.

Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it?

We understand the Mysteries by putting them in a human context, so now imagine that you are a guide or angel. Wouldn’t you want to be invited into life when things are going well? Wouldn’t you like to experience some laughter and fun?

What about prayers of joy and exaltation? In our game of imagination (which I consider very real, if not empirical) what if we invite spirit into our blessings?

Let’s make this invitation in a spirit of positivity, in an act of power that might tip the scales in favor of a vibrant and healthy world.

The Buddhists say ‘precious human life’ because being born human is the only way in which enlightenment is available, and thereby the potential to help relieve the suffering world. And yet it is also ‘precious human life’ as in the jewel on top of the mountain of existence – beautiful and shining. What are you doing with it?

It’s a personal question. I don’t pretend to have your answer. I only want to inspire you with the question!

So, it is in the spirit of gratitude for the blessings in my life (which, by the way, also holds great challenges!) that I want to celebrate this twelfth essay, this completion of a full trip around our own star, with some thanks to those who have made these reflections possible.

First to Laura, owner extraordinaire of this website and the little shop that hosts it. Many an essay was concocted over our morning coffee conversations, including the initial idea for Reflections by Tee. She is always inspiring, often my sanity and the truest of friends.

Next to Susan, my dear Sushka, who is one of the bravest souls I have ever known. Fellow writer, beautiful heart and razor sharp wit – we’ve planted many seeds together, and the fruits they have born have contributed to these essays.

To Valerie Hope – comrade in exploring the cosmos with all of its layers and levels. She is a bright and shining angel in human form, in service to the All – a kindred spirit who understands and loves me with open heart and brilliant insight. And, of course, inspiration for these pages!

Finally, to my sister, Linda, who has helped me to heal my heart. The bond of sisterhood, if cherished, is one of life’s greatest blessings. I am more myself because of her presence in my life, and to her I am grateful beyond words.

So now, on to the next twelve Reflections! We may take some new twists and turns together on the path. Dive into deep mysteries and dance on butterfly wings. It’s all wide open!

I want to thank you – dearest reader – for journeying with me. I wish you love and laughter throughout all the days of your life.

Peace-
Tee

p.s. I’d love to hear from you. Email me at teespirit@gmail.com

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