A few weeks ago I believed I was sailing smoothly along in the flow of a powerful manifestation only to have the wind knocked out of my sails by an unexpected and insurmountable challenge.

When I pulled myself back from the edge of discouragement and despair I was able to embrace a greater spiritual truth:

It is with trust that we open our minds , vision and hearts to unlimited possibilities.

And it is also with trust  that we open to a vaster reality that asks us to surrender our expectations of  outcome and know that divine order reigns.

Even as we believe in miracles, our minds are limited by our past experences and our egos attach us to specific results. What may appear to be an ending may simply be a detour we cannot yet fully imagine. What appears  as faulty timing may only be our human pushing against the flow of divine time.

Outer appeareances , events and circumstances can deceive for they represent merely one form of reality. Trusting our vision, one that is supported by inner guidance, prayer and meditation, means trusting in a horizon that we cannot yet see.

In manifesting clear intention the parts that are frightening and challenging are as critical as the parts that proceed with ease, for all outcomes bring us to a greater unfolding of our souls’ agenda.

 Recently the passing of an old friend brought me to the core shaking of the spirit that occurs when confronting the pain and disbelief of grief.

 In silence, in prayer, and in meditation I sent my friend loving energy, asked for his soul to know peace and toasted the memories of his life-affirming and generous personality.

 Now later, still in silence, I begin to ponder the lessons of death itself, a finality each of us ultimately experiences in others and in ourselves.

 Life is essentially fragile and uncertain.

 Our egos convince us that we can plan, be in charge of our days, our time, our future.

 And death brings us to our knees and reminds us of Surrender.

 The greater truth is that our human self is never really in control of the greater scheme, the destiny of all life. And when we surrender to letting go of the illusion of total control we open to the eternal flow of life and death.

 Endings and beginnings.

 Rising from the depths of a loss, there is an opening, a renewed capacity to view life with fresh eyes. 

With gratitude in the moment for all we hold sacred, for all whom we cherish.   

 The power of Now calls us to abandon individual resentments, angers, hurts and blaming and open to the ONE heart of forgiveness, connection, love and lightness.

 Truly awakening to the ephemeral nature of life, we recognize how little time there is to waste on non-essentials of the human personality.

 Passing through the sorrow by death’s door, we move into the portal of transition, of rebirth.

 And if we hold that life continues in a new dimension after the death of the physical body, then surely on the earth plane it continues as new life for those of us still in human form, for the bereaved.

 One dimension mirrors the other. And the mystery of life and death begins to be revealed.

Dear Readers: Has the death of a loved one ever brought a new understanding of your own life?

Are there ever times that it seems you simply cannot cope with someone else’s emotional and psychological “stuff?”

And even when you know you need to be loving and caring, you wind up being the opposite?

I usually reflect on those times when they are over…and then feel sad that I did not, in the  moment, react differently, more in tune with my spiritual beliefs , more in alignment with the nature of spiritual oneness  that is so essential for our well being, connectiveness and evolution.

 Living as I do in a remote area, surrounded by nature and wildness, I do not have the excuse of a hectic, driven life of endless noisy external stimulation. My surroundings are of quietude and peace. So much here allows one to be more thoughtful and aware, not super-stressed.

 What then is the source of “reaction” to another that is not attuned to the spirit of the higher self? 

 Unloving reactions come from ego and ego loves to hide in the past and self centered interpretations.

The present moment and letting go are where the soul may claim its freedom.

 Whenever we perceive another’s ‘stuff” as uncomfortable or unpleasant, that perception is based on our own history. And it is a perception that often creates guilt and shame in our reactions.

To change the outer, one must start with the inner truth.

There is a side of us that hides in the dark, the place where we deny our own divinity by holding onto unresolved feelings of hurt, anger, rejection, disappointment…all those lower vibrations that separate us from the One Source.

 As you become conscious of your feelings and how you are attached to them, you gift yourself with choice, the choice of a new reaction.

 Feelings are real, but interpretation of feelings is simply that, an interpretation.

 Others have similar experiences in the same situation, but differing reactions or interpretations. It is only your own individual history that you attach to that gives rise to  reactive unkindness.

 The divine you is constantly bringing forth challenging interactions so that you may release old outdated interpretations mired in the muck of an irrelevant past.

Every single moment in life brings new choice.  Every now moment is a fresh chance to create a new reality.

This is the eternal nature of our highest self.

To claim that self means to gain impeccability of your word with others and more loving reciprocal kindness in every interaction.

There is little in my life that has not changed. Change of home and surroundings, change of life style, change in work and change in relationships. There has been change that was by choice, change that comes with growing older and change that was unheralded and the least expected. None of it has been easy. Yet all of it has been and continues to be a doorway.

We live in unprecedented times of change.

Our personal lives mirror the change that surrounds us. Historic cultural and political change. Planetary environmental change. Global climatic change. Societal and metaphysical change. Universal consciousness is transforming and each of us is affected, is tossed and torn by the unrelenting winds of change.

As the whirlwinds of change envelop us, ego takes charge and resists, seeks to control or avoid change, for change creates fear, uncertainty and doubt. Our patterns of security are disrupted and as ego beings we cling to the comfort of the known.

As spiritual beings we know on the soul level that change is our call to our own enlightenment.

From our journey through the birth canal to our dying breath, change is the most consistent unchanging aspect of our lives.

We were born for change. Born to grow and evolve and become the most expansive light beings we are capable of becoming.

Clouded or hidden in the depths of its pain and discomfort, change offers us the potential of greater possibilities.

Change brings about the death of old ways of being, thinking and acting so that new ways may be born.

An old love dissolves to open the path for a fresh perspective on loving and a more fulfilling relationship to appear. A job is lost so that opportunities for work that is more in tune with true talents and gifts may be manifested. Finances diminish and as outer world entertainment is curtailed, more time is spent on peace giving stillness and inner reflection.

We are here to embrace change as the catalyst it is meant to be. And if you dare to let go of the battle that you wage against change and surrender to its guidance, unlimited and unseen blessings may uplift you.

Dear Readers: How has a recent change in your life brought new awareness, new perspectives?

 Serenity permeates my being as I tend the soil, preparing for my summer garden. Taking in the the peace of my surroundings, the clear sparkling tidal waters and the light cleansing mist of the pine forest, I feel the all encompassing solace of Nature. 

In this moment, in this place, how easy it is to experience Presence, to know the comfort of stillness and Oneness! 

But how to call upon and know Presence in more mundane settings and circumstances?

In the center of stressful work, in a room full of angry people, in conflict with another, in facing pain, disappointment and loss? Or simply when performing the sometimes frustrating tasks of daily life? 

That is the spiritual goal that eludes and challenges.

And leads to the pathway to Bliss. 

If we are truly spiritual beings housed in human form, then do we not automatically inherit the vital ability to attune to Presence? 

And if we are all One, are we not, each and every one of us, by nature, an essential particle of Presence? 

How then, is it so difficult to find that which we intrinsically and continually seek? 

It is human to believe that our inborn capacity to access the calm of Presence is sourced from outside conditions and events. 

That is the belief that creates a need to control situations, people, happenings and outcomes.

And in fact, separates us from Presence. 

The Presence we seek cannot be sought outside of us as it already exists within. 

We need only open the gateway. And reactivate the memory of our connection to divine love. 

When the outer world threatens turbulence and turmoil, then is the time to look within to separate from the energy that disturbs stillness. 

That may be a simple prayerful mantra: “I am with Presence” 

A clear intentional thought, “I am still” 

And a gentle releasing breath. 

There is always present the promise of Presence. 

Believe it, recall it to you, and it becomes real.

 Dear readers…How do you invite Presence into your life, especially in times of discord, disharmony and imbalance?

Especially if our own experience as children may not have afforded us that possibility? 

Mothers hold unique power. They may shape, educate, train, influence, inspire, guide and even decide the growth and destiny of all human souls.

 And yet, with all power, there exists the Sacred and the profane. 

Sacred power is wise, protecting those in need, encouraging, affirming and aligning with unconditional love.

 Power that is profane seeks to control others, abuses others for ego needs or convenience.

In nature we witness and are touched by the Sacred, the mother tenderly nourishing  and sheltering her  young.

 In human society although we tend to hold to an ideal of a loving, accepting sacred mother, for many of us there has also existed the profane. The mother or mother figure who may have hurt, rejected or judged us harshly.

As we celebrate the honoring of “mother” I think of how often I see both the mother of nature and the mother of human trial. And yet, each teaches us an aspect of ourselves and leads us to an opening, a possibility for higher self to emerge.

Whether you are male or female, young or old, a new mom or experienced mother, mothering friend or spouse or sibling or lover, you inherit both aspects of the complexity that is the mother archetype. 

Which do you choose clearly? Which do you consciously uphold or release?

Every aspect of a spiritual path demands awakening to old ways of being and living that separate you from the awareness that is divine self. 

Do you dare to look at the exercise of your own mother power in relationship with others be they your children or not? 

By simply becoming mindful of whether you seek to empower others or control them you enter the realm of greater potentiality.

Your potential to live in the harmony with the beauty, grace, love and abundance that this life offers is based on your choice. Your free choice, unhampered by old patterns of attaching to  the  wounded child within. 

When you live and give to yourself and others the qualities of compassion, kindness, mercy, patience, forgiveness, understanding and healing love, you truly allow the heart of your inner sacred mother to emerge.

That is the divine Sacred mother that nurtures your own life and co-creates a more peaceful world.

 As I walked in the woods today I felt the essence of Spring’s renewal in this Northern climate. A fresher scent in the air, a radiant new filtered light through the treetops, and young green ferns sprouting thru the ground leaves. I thought of the difference from less than two weeks ago when snow still lay upon the earth and the air and light were tinged with cold and frost.  

 Two weeks ago I was impatient for the long winter to end, to be outdoors and feel the change of seasons.

Today I marveled at how quickly the change had transpired.

 There is a spiritual belief, even a tenet of quantum physics, that time is merely a construct and that all that is, is now, now is forever. Past and future are irrelevant illusions.

 This mystical mystery befuddles the human mind.

 But can you allow yourself to even consider the possibility that all takes place in the exact right time?

The snow melts as the weather warms; sprouts shoot up as the earth becomes ready, light changes as the planet rotates. And each and every event in your life occurs when conditions are aligned for changes to manifest.

 The seemingly fulfilled and unfulfilled, the complete and incomplete, are simply judgments of the ego mind, the need to attach to and experience an anticipated result in the expected time frame.

 Even as you read this time flows through the dimension of seamless eternity.

 So to become impatient for an outcome, a change, a need fulfilled, a healing, a loved one’s arrival, a new job, a transformed relationship, a conclusion to cycle or a project, is to deny the all encompassing potential of the present.

The present is the only time in which the necessary energy for change is eternally becoming activated.

 To be centered in that timeless and yet fruitful energy means to believe in the divine order of life’s creation. And as a soul incarnated in this now time, you share a sacred purpose with that creation.

 Your needs, then, are fulfilled even as the needs of the seeds waiting beneath the earth, in the right and perfect time.