Open hearts and minds

Those fallen from grace shall become as children in the eyes of God, knowing nothing of the world at large, only the guidance of the mothers hand.  We must learn to forgive the transgressions of those ‘children’ and lead by example.  The bricks and mortar of society – of our foundations – truly depend upon those of us who are awake to the realities of this world.

The rising tide of dissent that threatens to engulf us can only be stemmed by an increase in the amount of love felt and conveyed by those who choose to feel.  Following blindly is no longer an option, for the path of the sheep leads nowhere.

Gratitude and forgiveness open our hearts and minds, rendering judgement benign.  Familiar ways become forgotten as an open mind seeks delight in new ways.  Forgotten roots are uncovered and a sense of belonging in where you really are emerges.  With that knowledge, we become strong again, no longer paying heed to the myths of modern mans hierarchy.  Forge ahead into your own unknown, giving life to that which you dream of, for only then will the light within you grow to a sustainable level. 

AGD
Channelled 16th Nov 2012

A click of the heels and three turns ...

Many people assumed, when they heard I was moving to Bath, that it involved having a job to go to or it was because of a man.  Neither of these applied, it was a case of a powerful urge to move, knowing that my time in Tring was over and it was simply time to move on.  Where to go was tricky for a little while - gut feel only told me it would be somewhere in the west country, so I kept mentally scouring Devon until one night I had a dream....
In the dream, I opened my front door and saw the city of Bath spread before me - woohoo!  That was all the prompt I needed to begin making concrete plans - at last, a focus!

So, 3 months of fervent activity ensued, getting rid of as much 'stuff' as possible from the house my boys and I had shared over the previous 6 years.  It was tough, but also somehow exhilarating as multiple trips to the charity shops and the tip opened up patches of wall and floor that hadn't seen light of day for sometime.  Not long before my move, the boys moved out to their respective places and suddenly whole rooms were empty.  Had I really managed to get rid of enough stuff to downsize to a 2 bed flat?

Moving days (one day to pack up in Tring and one to unload in Bath) arrived and loading up went like clockwork, even though my packing wasn't finished until that very morning (partly due to a late assignation with a hot date the night before!).  Only one glitch marred what was a smooth day and that was that I'd forgotten to defrost the freezer - doh!  But hey, what's a couple of hours delay in a lifetime of change?  No big deal.  I drove down to stay in Chippenham overnight before going to collect the keys to my new flat the next morning.

The day of my move into Bath arrived with more than a tinge of anticipation.  The agent involved in the deal had swanned off to spend summer at his pad in France leaving his cold young cohort to hold the fort.  'Cold young cohorts', especially the estate agent variety, are renowned for using the bare minimum of their limited time upon the people who actually pay them, so communication was brief as I duly waited for him to trawl the archives of his computer to find the relevant paperwork.  Eventually I was free to leave with the keys in my already tired hand, eager to set foot in the property I'd checked out a month earlier.

First thing I noticed was how much smaller the rooms were than I'd remembered - it was evident that memory does indeed play tricks when desire has a vested interest.  The second thing I'd conveniently forgotten was that the flat was actually up 4 flights of stairs, not 2 as I'd thought (and told the removal company) - oops!.  A quick check in the kitchen cupboards revealed that the landlady's pots and pans, still with the evidence of the previous occupants food attached to them, were still filling the very limited cupboard space.  A phone call to agent and landlady set what I'd hoped would be wheels in motion but nothing happened.  Instead, boxes very quickly filled up all the available working space in the narrow kitchen so it became a game of shuffle the boxes as we tried to empty some so we could in turn fill the empty boxes with the contents of the cupboards.  The dirty cupboards then needed a clean - not a great start and added further to already elevated stress levels.  Added to this, it became evident after a couple of hours unloading that I wouldn't be able to fit all of my furniture in the flat so I had to take the decision to let several pieces go without even knowing how or where.  A solution was found and my dining table & chairs, rocking chair and a wardrobe all duly disappeared, never to be heard of again.  I decided some things you just have to let go of in the face of the bigger picture.

As if all the stress and effort of the move wasn't enough, my stress levels were ready to go through the roof, and I just wanted everyone to go, I couldn't understand why the gang of removal men just seemed to hang around, making polite conversation and offering endless help.  It took a while for it to dawn on me that they were actually waiting for a tip, despite what I'd already paid.  I went downstairs and had a word with the foreman, offering him a note to buy the men a drink. My offer was declined, but one of the team watching from the window thought he had seen a tip given and I was later contacted by a colleague trying to settle an argument, as the issue had been a source of bickering amongst the men since my move.  Why is nothing straight forward anymore?

Well, all of that was 6 weeks ago now and I'm happily settled here in Larkhall, Bath.  I have to say - this village is rather lovely - all conveniences on hand, including a post office (a rarity these days) and a rather wonderful little french cafe that opened about the time I moved here (stroke of luck or what?).  The sun has done a lot of shining and I've come to enjoy the walk into town and back, barely noticing the hills, uneven pavements and my 4 flights of stairs.  Sometimes I go for a rekky on my bike to suss out the lie of the land - the car mainly gets used to take me dancing these days so petrol usage is halved.

The major difference since moving here has been having a man in my life again.  Although its only weekends, it's been quite an adjustment for an independent woman like me to make and I've had more than a few of my previous ideas turned upside down - good job I can laugh at myself.

Despite some good referrals which are ongoing, work is slow at returning but I'm confident that October will bring a new batch of clients.  In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for other creative opportunities, or perhaps make some of my own.  We shall see what transpires in the fullness of time, but one thing is for sure, there's plenty going on here so it won't be long before I glimpse a new avenue to explore.

Life Reflected in Dance

Dancing is a way of engaging in the very essence of life and expressing how you feel through that medium.  So those who have an urge to express how they feel through dance will usually find a dance form that best expresses the kind of person they are and fits with the kind of music they prefer – not to mention how much of life they wish to bite off and chew over on a regular basis!    

Indeed, in partner dancing, it is possible to perceive much in those first few moments about the other person, should we care to notice.  This brings me to another observation about different dance styles – they each involve different levels of connection, and therefore beautifully display how willing each participant is to engage in the depths of life, for it’s never just about the other person, but also what they reflect back to us.

Some people will be happy to stay within the same dance genre for many years, perhaps finding it a suitable vehicle for a decent social life and to maintain a modicum of fitness.  Yet others will move every few years through different dance styles as if searching, although they may not know what they seek.  These types may eventually form their own fusion dance, although this carries the danger that few can synchronize with them and their dance is in danger of becoming one of frustration.

So, folks go into dance with some notion about what they want from it, the path of progress turning this way and that over the years as they mature personally.  Plateaus of comfort punctuate the dance lifetime, usually accompanied by a decision of whether to stay put or move forward into a further growth phase.  The need for growth may be driven by the surfacing of uncomfortable emotions from deep within – some aspect of the self has been subject to a growth spurt and we have to work out how to deal with the fallout.  The dance floor then becomes a safe haven in which to feel and subconsciously process the emotions we perceive.  On the dance floor, the feelings we have are an inadvertent blend of our own and the ones we sense and reflect from others, but because they don’t need to be vocalized in that space, it feels easier to process them, carried along by the emotional wave of the music.

* * *

Some observations of the types of people who exist in some dance genres:

Arm-led dances such as Modern Jive, Ceroc, Lindy Hop, Rock & Roll tend to be favoured by people who appear to be happy-go-lucky, like to believe their life is pretty much on track and don’t really want to go digging down inside to see what else is there – they might find something they don’t like.  They are wary of intense relationships, tending to prefer the arms length variety.

Salsa tends to be danced by people who are happy to engage with others in a deeper, more earthy way.  They believe in the power of their own bodies and prefer not to over-think things, favouring more physical relationships.  Not for analytical types.

Tango – the Argentine variety – tends to be favoured by people who have an active mind.  They are naturally curious and like to develop, in body, mind and spirit.  These people know there’s more to life than what you see on the surface and are willing to do some exploring.  However, tango has its share of mechanical dancers - people who are attracted by its aesthetics but lack an emotional connection, perhaps because of their design (see below); they can still do well in tango if they work hard and may even get to the same emotional place as others but by another route.  Their relationships involve growth and change because these people don’t like to stagnate.

* * *

In the system known as Human Design, where we are acknowledged as being 9-centred beings (the centres being representative of the chakra system), it is recognized that the ones who have a ‘defined’ solar plexus centre are naturally emotional beings, making them sensitive types who are used to interpreting life by how it feels to them.  Because they are accustomed to riding the emotional roller coaster, they embrace each obstacle (or change) and maintain a steady course ahead.

Now, some people don’t have a defined solar plexus and, although they may seem to be emotionally cold on the surface, they can actually feel deeply as they amplify the current emotional wave.  They have quite a different outlook upon life, and upon the dance.  These types of people can take much longer than emotional types to learn a dance because they don’t feel the music, their movement or their partner in the same way.  Their dance is, and always will tend to be more mechanical, because they lack that ability to feel it.  They sense the defined solar plexus in those who possess it and are subconsciously envious, because what skills they have developed have been hard come by rather than natural and easy.

However, although these two groups can seem quite disparate, it is possible for them to come together, simply by accepting each other’s differences.  As humans, we will always be different from each other – that’s what creates interest.  In human design, we will always seek to fill the spaces within our own design – usually by surrounding ourselves with people who possess what we  don’t have.

If you’re interested in knowing more about Human Design, go to www.jovianarchive.com or play some of the many free recordings on YouTube – there is a rich seam of information just waiting to be tapped into if you’re serious about learning how to play the game of life instead of being happy to struggle against a head wind.

11^th June 2012

Dire straights to home straights – There’s light at the end of the tunnel

Having already spent many years helping people towards their own healing and playing my part by being a catalyst for their change, it has been frustrating during recent years to notice that my own change was not readily forthcoming.  I’ve become accustomed to the fact that those who turn up to welcome in change would inevitably attract messages that would also apply to myself.  And, over time, I just got to thinking that I had to wait patiently, with blind faith as my only companion, for whatever was deemed to be my lot in life.  What I hadn’t realised was that during this extended period of waiting, my ego had dug a deep rut for me to reside in.  Oh, it has undoubtedly been a comfortable rut, so much so that I didn’t realise it was a rut … until today.

Following the very powerful new moon last weekend, I sensed something had to give – maybe all this professional hanging around had to go – it was either time to grab change with both hands or drown in a mire of stagnation.  Well, I couldn’t bear the thought of staying still any longer, so I opted for change and began to make notes about what has to go from my life. If I’m going to make any changes, I need to see clearly where I’m going or how I want my life to be, so I’ve had to lose a few trees in order to see the wood.

It’s early days at present, and progress is slow.  A pre-clearing meditation showed my real self as being represented by a gazelle.  This is what I found out about the gazelle as a power animal:

“The gazelle has the ability to zig-zag swiftly from side to side, often outwitting the cheetah and putting themselves out of the cheetah's straight line run of attack.

  Similarly, those who try and escape depression, fear, negative emotions and habits of the past often find themselves stopped in their tracks, with the negative emotions they try to avoid at their throats. “

And the suggested learning is:

“The gazelle means being at ease with our own vulnerability and using the acute awareness and sensitivity we have.  Acknowledge the ability to discover new paths yet change direction when required, freeing ourselves from the negativity of the past.  Put all your energy into a positive way of living and thinking. Life is an adventure.  Grasp it with both hands and a heart filled with anticipation and eagerness.”  (By Ina Wolcott)

How apt!  Ok, message received and understood.  A subsequent meditation showed me a tortoise crawling out of a hole – perhaps after hibernation – the message from that one simple enough to understand.

So now, I’m making a point of taking one small step each day towards making what might seem like small and inconsequential changes to my life.  Because these changes are deeply personal to me and involve digging to the very heart of myself, there are times when I feel very uncomfortable and even scared, but I’m not giving up.  I know that mental discipline is required and a tenacity, which I thought I had, but only now do I realise what it actually means to use it.  This has to be the hardest part of all I’ve gone through because it's totally self-generated and no one can do any of it for me.

So, I’m setting off on the journey into the second half of this lifetime and breathing deeply in anticipation of all that is to come.  Wish me luck and I’ll post an update when there’s more to tell.  I’m sharing my experience because I know that in these uncertain times, only one thing is certain, and that is change, so I can't be the only one upon this journey.

Blessings to one and all.

... and breathe

Winter is often a time of introspection, consolidation and a desire to hibernate - all good for a time, but not things you want to uphold for too long - it gets boring!  So, with the absence of a defined lurch into spring this year, and the drawn out wet weather, many people are feeling pressured and worn by the lack of upliftment that we expect at this time of year.  

With spring, we expect feelings of awakening, upliftment, forward movement.  This year, a hiatus seemed apparent - things were somehow different. We found ourselves having to stop and think more about what we want, what we're doing and why - in other words, questioning what we've taken for granted.  Indeed, these are times of change, so having a questioning mind would certainly be the order of the day if we are to consider the road ahead.  

A renewed outlook highlights how we easily become complacent within a society that is built upon expectations of what we feel we should have access to and what should be provided for us.  We see the uselessness of things we once held dear and how the need for some things we thought we needed is now no longer apparent.  It becomes evident that being more responsible for ourselves and what we attract into our lives is essential if we want to build a more suitable foundation for our own future.   

When you choose to wake up from the dumbed-down slumbers of the have-it-all society and have a more mindful approach to living, its easier to accept the power that being responsible for yourself brings.  Making up your own mind about anything and everything that comes your way makes the weapons of guilt and blame useless against you because your own truth makes you stronger than you ever imagined.  The trick is to drop the notion some would have you believe that life is about struggle - it's not.  There are only two things you need to remember about life ... Acceptance and Humility.  

Why not start each day by taking a long, slow breathe and letting the river of life take you where it will, knowing that all will unfold perfectly for your highest good.

From my truth to yours ...