The Enormity of the Situation

Dear Readers, I have been struggling to find words to express my thoughts and feelings about the state of our collective world. Just when I think I can manage to write something, yet another jaw-dropping thing happens, and I am again left dumbfounded. Case in point: the volcanic explosion that took place near the island of Tonga in the South Pacific on January 15^th.

There I was, sitting at my kitchen table with a cup of fresh coffee, phone in hand, and as soon as I got onto social media, I see WARNING! Tsunami alert issued for the entire west coastline of the United States. From there, of course I had to do the dance of finding out what on Earth had just happened.

Facebook/Tonga Geological Service

This year of 2022 is certainly starting off with a boom. Already we are getting reports of massive heat domes over South America and Australia with record-breaking high temperatures. Occasionally I watch a Youtube channel known as World Of Signs. The guy who makes the videos put one up with footage of the Tonga volcano erupting, and a whole bunch of other extreme weather events. Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABE84Phl2Ns

Some of you might follow the work of Charles Eisenstein. He is an author, philosopher, social critic and public intellectual. He recently collaborated with Ben Stewart on a mini-documentary, where he gives his impressions of our current collective situation. Charles is a thoughtful, brilliant, compassionate human. Here is a link. And the Music Played the Band (Charles Eisenstein mini-doc)  https://youtu.be/BDlreRnCYpg

Way back in the 80s, when people spoke to me of the End Times and the Apocalypse, I shrugged them off as religious fanatics and did not give it another thought. Even when the year 2000 was approaching and people were preparing for the worst, once the clocks turned and the world didn’t collapse, it seemed only that a bunch of people had overreacted. But the last decade in particular has really been extraordinary. Newscasters are running out of descriptive words for the events that keep happening. I heard one news anchor from Australia report that the Tonga volcano eruption was a “once in a millennium” event, with more force than several nuclear explosions. That strikes me as utter hyperbole, given our current state of the world. These kinds of events will clearly continue to occur with accelerated speed and frequency for the foreseeable future. We are on an unstoppable trajectory of Earth changes, and there no longer seems to be much that any of us can do about it.

My best advice would be to spend some time simplifying your life. Get rid of extra material things you no longer need or use. Lighten your load. Spend more time on Mama Gaia, feel the Earth under your feet. This world is changing, even the ground underneath us can shift and change in an instant. Make some new friends, get to know your neighbors. Reach past your comfort zone regularly and spend more time in quietness. Don’t be in such a hurry to do, spend more time simply Being. Find the still place within and get better acquainted.

Dear Readers, to those of you who continue to read my blog, I offer my thanks and gratitude. Together, we and many millions of others are raising the vibration of humanity to its next level of consciousness. This is why we are here now, incarnated into these human forms. It is extraordinary, courageous work we are doing, and exhausting. We truly are in the heart of the battle for the Light to overcome the forces of darkness. They are trying their hardest to prevent the Light from winning, just as the prophets of old prophesized. It actually is that time, right here and now. Everything you say, do, and the way you move through the world, if done in the spirit of love, truth, and compassion, adds to the Light quotient. Your presence here matters. Thank you for being here.

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New Year’s Musings 2022

Here we are again, on the cusp of a new cycle of days around our wonderous sun. Many cultures hold the new year as a sacred passage, a time for putting worldly concerns aside and focusing within one’s heart and soul. When you allow yourself the space and silence for inward reflection, your inner wisdom will reveal its secrets to you.

What were your biggest learnings from 2021? In which ways did you stretch and grow the most? Did your personal hardships serve to make you stronger, more compassionate, kinder and more tolerant? Or did life’s plot twists instead harden your heart, make you more bitter or angry? No matter what you endured during the past year, this moment is a fresh start. Humans have the unique ability to change our minds, to choose another way to view life, each other and ourselves. If the past year was so rough that you’d prefer to not remember what happened, that is your choice alone to make.

https://www.southernliving.com/culture/quotes-about-strength

I have never been one for New Year’s resolutions. This seems mostly a futile exercise, to tell yourself that from here on out, I will perform x,y and z each day (or week) until I’ve ______(fill in the blank). However, the start of the new year is a perfect time to reflect on what in your life you’d like to improve upon, habits that could make you feel stronger and healthier in body, practices to heal your heart, and ways of being to create more stillness and space in your soul. Without dogma or “have-to” as requirements, taking some time to jot down a few practices you’d like to weave into your days can be extremely helpful to create a happier, more peaceful life.

Dear Readers, I think we can all agree that humanity is on the roller coaster ride of our lives during these years of the 2020s. 2022 is promising to continue the ups and downs, with plenty of surprises and upheaval. I have heard that the next three years, in fact, will be pivotal years for Earth and for us all as the changes keep coming on all fronts. The best way to prepare yourself for all that is ahead is by training your mind to be calm, to learn how to breathe properly in order to stay grounded, and to work on being equanimous in all situations.

Mindfulness practice supports calming one’s mind.

We have come to raise up humanity to the next level of evolution, and to save our beloved planet, Gaia, from total destruction. So pay attention as the new year of 2022 unfurls. As a regular practice, ground yourself, still your mind, and do what you can to add to the Light quotient on the planet. I wish you all the strength and support you need to do your part in serving humanity in the unique ways that you can. Remember, you are never alone. The spirit guides are here and ready to help, all you need do is to ask.

Staying grounded in a pandemic

image via http://kristypace.com/

Dear Readers, how are you managing during these ultra-stress-filled days of pandemic across our world? I am sending each of you copious amounts of calm, emerald green light, silver light of healing, and crystalline light of clarity to help fortify you as you navigate the days and weeks ahead.

My own mental, emotional and physical bodies seem to be continuously cycling through stages of calm, feeling grounded and able to handle the latest news cycle, to experiencing the effects of stress and anxiety on all levels, and then eventually cycling back to peace again. This is happening at least daily, if not hourly sometimes. As the situation becomes more extreme and challenging, we will all be stretched in ways we probably didn’t even know we could be—and it doesn’t feel good! My physical body is certainly feeling very uncomfortable and in pain in certain areas. I’m not ill, and don’t have any symptoms of the coronavirus, thankfully. Yet, it is extremely disconcerting to hear what news reporters and government authorities are telling all of us. Within the past 48 hours, Spain and France have been put on lockdown and quarantines are in place for nearly all their citizens. Today (Monday, March 16, 2020) here in the United States, the president announced that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that no groups of more than 10 people gather, people refrain from going to restaurants and bars, and practice social distancing (standing at least 6 feet from the next person). This afternoon, the city and counties around San Francisco went into quarantine, as the mayor asked all residents to stay home except for getting essentials like food and meds. The greater San Francisco area has around 7 million people. New York city likewise has gone into quarantine, with all the normal activities of that metropolis coming to a standstill. One by one, large cities across the United States are following suit and it is very likely that nearly all of them will be in quarantine status very soon.

I think it is not an exaggeration to state that almost no one alive on our planet today has lived through a time quite like the current pandemic. Surely, many millions have lived through horrific wars, intense natural disasters, and epidemics of various kinds over the last decades. But there is something unique about the spread of the novel coronavirus that is leaving millions of us in shock and awe. It feels like we are in a bizarre, dystopian reality show, which is being written by the human collective minute by minute.

Dear Readers, part of the mission of this blog is to encourage you to find the interrelatedness between us all and the natural world. To make the connections we have to each other and Mother Gaia as strong and as compassionate as possible.  To inspire you to dig down deep into your heart and soul for answers to life’s perplexing and confounding problems. At this pivotal moment in time, we have reached a true crossroads. This coronavirus pandemic is asking each of us, and all of us, to fully grasp how utterly connected we are with one another and with our planet. We are being challenged to go beyond the old paradigm of separation and to see with new eyes just how profoundly we are one people who share it all—down to the very smallest living particles in our bodies. This is a moment. We, who are willing to see clearly, must understand that this virus pandemic is forcing us to confront this truth, and let down our egoistic self in favor of raising up our collective self. In our mandated “social isolation” from one another, we have the tremendous opportunity to reach out in every way we can imagine—in the virtual world of conferences, classes, church services, human services, workspaces, as well as entertainment, sports, shopping, and socializing.

How creative can we be in the face of crisis; the pandemic is asking us. We already have excellent examples all around, both of generosity and pettiness. What of the Tennessee brothers who bought up tens of thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer to sell for inflated prices on Amazon.com, only to be told they couldn’t do it? They ended up, shame-faced, donating them all to the greater good. Or the lyrical story of Italians who, unable to come out into the streets like they are accustomed to do, instead opening their windows and balconies to sing together? People across the world are helping each other in ways small and big. Many thousands of health care workers are dedicated to helping the sick and infected, at possibly huge cost to themselves.

It has been said, it is only when confronted with an emergency that the best in human nature presents itself. Therefore, Crisis is also an Opportunity. I believe this is a moment when we can each choose to find our core strength and courage, when we can step up to the opportunities presented to us for showing compassion and love in the face of adversity. We have a real chance now to lay down the old games of greed, selfishness and pettiness. Life is giving us a new gameboard and we can make up new rules for how to live on Earth. All the things we have been dreaming of—a world based on freedom, love, truth, justice, peace and goodness—are within our grasp. This pandemic could be our grand opportunity to create the new rules moving forward. We don’t HAVE to return to the old normal once we’re on the other side of it. We can forgive transgressions now, we can live justly now, we can give generously now, and build on that momentum moving into the future.

Dear Readers, I encourage each of you reading this post to dig down deep and find your true strength and reason for being alive on the planet. What are you here to do? What are you living for? What kind of world do you wish to build for your children and great grandchildren? This crisis moment can show us in stark terms that not only is a better world possible, but it can happen with lightning speed. In just one month in China, because manufacturing came to a standstill, carbon emissions were cut by 25%. That is an enormous amount of pollution that didn’t occur in a very short period of time. We have the solutions to the problems humanity faces. Perhaps, a year or two from now, we will collectively be able to see the real path to solving them as one of the great learnings from our current pandemic.

Please take all the precautions you can at this time to keep yourself, your family and your community safe. Keep calm, be brave, and shine your light for all who are still in the darkness.