I burned my favorite small saucepan and try as I might, I couldn’t scrub it off. My first thought was to discard the pot and buy another. Then I Googled how to clean a burned pan and saw I was doing it the hard way. I could simply boil water, vinegar and baking soda and it would lift right out.  How often do I try to do things the hard way? Learning that alchemy saved me a lot of physical labor. It’s also alchemy when we take a moment during an emotional flare up and decide to transform an irking thought into a better feeling thought. We’re all alchemists with the power to transform what we find around us into the heaven we want to live in. We all have the power and ability to take what we have and make it into what we want.

We freak out about death because we think it’s the end. We don’t know what comes after, so our thought is stuck on oh, no, death! They’re gone! It’s like any other goal. If we’re to demystify it, we have to imagine ourselves on the other side of it. This is what we do in meditation, it is a daily separation of consciousness from the body. We transcend our awareness of the physical body and brain and find ourselves, maybe just for a split second, in a place of clear consciousness, abundantly free and completely aware of our surroundings as an observer. As you continue to experience that during daily meditation, you lose your fear of “death” since you’ve discovered how to move between the worlds, so to speak, between being the one who is in the body and the one who exists beyond the body.  When this happens, you no longer weep for the death of the caterpillar — you’re excited for the butterfly on its way.  In the overall scheme of things, this one life is just a moment in time. Every loved one who disappears from it during your lifetime, you’ll see again, I assure you. Continue reading →

I sweep my front walk in the mornings, as well as my driveway. Benny is always out there with me and he’s not always helping. I live under an acre of oaks so there are always leaves and fallen branches overnight. I used to look at it as a chore, and I resisted it. When I began to think of it as part of my daily spiritual practice, it became a welcome ritual.  As I sweep I bring to mind how much I enjoy my home and grounds. I not only sweep the walk to keep it clear for mail and delivery persons, I sweep it to clear the way for new good to arrive in whatever form the Universe wants to deliver it.  I sweep the dried leaves into the yard as mulch so it returns to the land as nourishment. As I sweep, I also sweep away any cobwebs of confusion that may linger from yesterday into today. I sweep in clarity of purpose and focus of intent. I acknowledge that I live a blessed life, shared with loving others.  I’m blessed to work at home surrounded by loving family and to have a comfortable life.  Sweeping clears my mind for the day, as well as the driveway. Keeping my space clear of unnecessary items has become a great metaphor for keeping my life clear and uncluttered. When I find things piling up, that reveals my state of mind and that tells me I’ve got some internal work to do.

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A FBF is upset a woman was charged with only a misdemeanor after leaving her grandchild in the car alone while she ran from police. “Tell me where this is right,” he wrote. “Fleeing and Alluding alone is a felony.”  I notice my comment was sharp and sounded snarky: “If folks would stop pretending they know the law they would stop getting others riled up. Sure some stuff seems unfair but you don’t know the law, you don’t know the statutes, you don’t know the final charges, you don’t know the guidelines. I was in criminal law for 22 years, with all due respect most people who quote the law on FB sound like they get their info off TV shows.”    Continue reading →

I just read about the self described witch who, via social media, organized the mass hexing of a sex offender. She said she had no concerns about the “Rule of Three (threefold return) or magical backlash.” That tells me she’s not an experienced practitioner. Every wish and intent you have for another comes back to you and your loved ones. It’s like gravity, it doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. Don’t take on the karma of wishing ill will on anyone. Ask instead for their awakening, their deepened compassion, and yours.

A friend questioned the validity of repeating affirmations that are untrue, in the hopes of trying to convince yourself of something. That’s where people go wrong with their “affirmations.” You can’t choose a phrase that you know isn’t true. You choose a phrase that is a true statement of something you want to be made more fully aware of. I can say “in this moment I have all I need,” and it’s true. That repeated true phrase leads me to more fully realize that truth. Sure, the car payment may be due Thursday and if I don’t have it right now, I trust and expect that I’ll have it by Thursday. But I’m talking about right now. Not tomorrow, not yesterday. Can I pay off my mortgage right now? No. Do I have in this moment all I need? Yes, absolutely. And the more I realize that, the wider my eyes will open and the wider my mind will open to encompass new ideas, possibilities and opportunities.

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Can’t concentrate, can’t meditate because the voices in your head won’t stop? Remember just because they talk, you don’t have to listen to them and you don’t have to let it affect you. You take a breath and release the thought on the exhale. Do it enough and your perception of your situation will morph right before your very eyes.