Pondering

Over the last year the Universe most certainly has given me enough time to reflect on life. To discover more of who I am, to know better where I stand, and to see more clearly where the path that is opening up in front of me is leading.

And finally — yes it really has taken me a year — I am starting to appreciate this great gift!

It has only been over the past couple of weeks that I find myself in a position of discernment as to what things that are happening in the world, and what situations that I am encountering in my life agree with my true values, and which are not.

And so, I have found myself on an inner journey. A journey that is bringing me closer and closer to an experience of authenticity I had not been aware of until now.

This journey has prompted me to get more acquainted with my roots — my ancestral roots, my cultural roots, and even, to a certain extend, humanities roots. It has brought up the age-old question where we are coming from and where we are going. Yet less philosophical and perhaps more to the point from a day-to-day perspective, this journey is inviting me to revisit my personal value system.

In other words, what are the things that are truly important to me, and what are things that I may have been taught, yet that turn out to be of less value to me than it would have been to my parents, and even grandparents.

For example, I was brought up that you always will finish what you have started. It was one of those “rules” my parents lived by. But is it as important to me at this point of my path?

And I am finding that this particular “value” is not. The thing is that I also find it is more difficult to let go of it than I would have thought…

On the other hand, both my parents really worked at carving a life out for themselves in which they went for their wishes and desires — even when they encountered lots of opposition from their parents in doing so… And this persistence in reaching their goals that they had, I do relate to at this point in my life.

And then there is the situation in the world of today…

It brings up questions like do I agree with what is happening? Or not so much? And either way, am I going to voice my opinion openly and loudly, or chose to approach it from a more personal, even an inner perspective? 

If I would do the latter, the questions that come up is what does this mean to me in my personal life? And what does it show me about my authentic self?

After all, the fact that we are part of humanity at this point in time means that there is something to be gained for us, just as much as that we have something to bring to the table that will help those that are around us, as well as humanity on a larger scale…

So, do I go along with something that I do not exactly agree with, “for the good of all”? Or will I walk my path according to my value system and trust that this will turn out to be helpful to those around me?

The answers to that one question will be extremely personal, and depending on the situation, on what is at stake, and many, many other aspects that are at play at that very moment.

And because the answers are so individual, there can be no right or wrong answer. 

The one constant, however, is that we need to respect the choices the other person is making, as we neither know the full extend of their situation, nor how that is interacting with their value system…

And as I am pondering all of this, yes, I do appreciate the time I have been given for this process as a great gift!

A New Melody

Even though the pandemic seems far from over, and out thoughts may seem more focused on how we can healthy ourselves, right now — rather than looking at our personal path through life, or setting new goals; or even embarking upon new adventures… There does seem to be a new melody emerging…

Have you noticed that as well? That there seems to be a new vibration, perhaps even a new rhythm to the energy? 

Very subtly changes seem to be creeping in ~ pushing aside the old and bringing the new forward.

Suddenly, without even thinking twice about it, we may find ourselves making decisions that we have been pushing aside for a long time. Or we start being more active, or perhaps taking more time to smell the roses. It is almost as if these changes come from a place deep down inside ourselves with hardly any logical thought involved at all.

And bit by bit as we allow these changes to take place, we are building a new structure for ourselves. We are permitting a new rhythm to emerge. A new rhythm to do our chores, a new rhythm to do our job, a new rhythm to our times of rest. In short a new rhythm to our lives! And that new rhythm sets us up to do new things ~ perhaps even the things we always wanted to do (but never did).

As it is with changes in energy ~ it is up to us how we handle them. Whether we jump in with both feet and enjoy the new energies as a new adventure on our path. Or whether we fight the changes until we can no longer deny them and have to deal with them one way or another.

So, some may heave a sigh of relief that this new rhythm is finally here, while to others it feels like an upset to their energies, to their lives as ever so steadily the newness takes over and perhaps even demands newness in us.

New lines of thought. New directions. New ways of life.

Chances are these changes are here to stay and it is up to us to feel their vibration, to notice their rhythm and to find the melody that bridges that rhythm to our personal lives and our individual paths...

That new melody may well be written in a new scale, and therefore be dis-harmonic to our ears at first. After a while though, when the new rhythm and new melody merge more fully ~ we may find ourselves dancing a new dance.

Getting used to the new melody and the new dance, we may step on some toes... In return we may find that others as they are getting used to their new melodies, trample our toes...

Yet pretty soon we will get the hang of it and can fully enjoy the freedom of this new music and the new dance.

I can feel the new vibration, the new rhythm...

And I am listening for that new melody…

First published in June 2013.

The Dragon’s Den

Find yourself a place where you can sit comfortably for a bit, and come with me on a journey of discovery. A visualization. A journey in your mind’s eye. Feel anticipation building around you, as you start walking along a path through a valley. Tall mountain peaks are towering over you in all their majesty, but the valley is flat and wide. It is easy to follow the path, and you enjoy the warmth of the sun, the clear air, and the feeling of nature all around you. And as the path moves slowly upward you have a sense that nature's eyes are following your every step...

Then the path makes a bend to the right and suddenly you find yourself standing in front of a castle. This castle has old, thick, strong walls. It has towers and turrets. Through big, open doors you can see inside. This castle feels safe and welcoming.

As you step through the doors you hear soft music from somewhere inside the castle. It seems to be an ancient melody — almost ethereal.

You start following this music, curious where it is coming from. You walk through a long corridor, and although it seems fairly dark when you look ahead, with each step you can see more clearly. There seems to be a light that surrounds you. A light that radiates from you. Wherever you go in this castle, the light goes with you. It allows you to clearly see what is there. And you notice now, that there are rooms on either side of this corridor. Some of the doors may be open, while others are closed. 

And when you feel you want to look in one of these rooms, you will find that the door opens easily. And the light goes with you, so you can see clearly whatever is in the room behind the door. And you take your time observing what is there. What does the room look like? What is its shape? Does the room have high ceilings?  How is the room furnished?  Are there cupboards in this room, or maybe a chest?  You may want to have a look what is inside the cupboard. Does the room have windows? What do you see, when you look through them?

And when you have seen everything there is to  see in this room, you return to the corridor and once again you follow the soft melody. You notice now that the corridor seems to go down, and that the music seems to be louder the further you go. And you move on...

Finally you come to a stairwell. In the light that radiates from you, you can clearly see sturdy, brick steps that are leading downward. This is where the ancient music seems to be coming from. And slowly you descend the steps — one by one. And with each step you take the beautiful, ancient music grows stronger in your ears. And the light that radiates from you ensures that you can see clearly.

At the bottom of the stairs is a door. You observe this door... You look at the well preserved wood, the pattern of the huge metal hinges that hold the door in place. You are certain now that the music is coming from behind this door. And when you carefully touch the door, it slowly swings open.

There is a faint glow coming from the room behind it, filled with a diffuse light that has no obvious point of origin. But as you step through the doorway, this light that lights the room seems to connect with the light that is radiating from you.

The room is filled with the music you have been following all along. and you listen to the melody that has led you here. In reality it doesn't look as much as a room, but more like a cave. And everywhere you look there are treasures. You look at them as you wander through this cave-like room. There are crystals... gold... silver... jewels... But also maps... and books... You take it al in. Every once in a while you pick something up and examine it. Noticing it feels vaguely familiar. 

And as you are pondering this treasure, a voice bids you welcome. This, the voice says, is your potential. Old potential that has blossomed already, and new potential. Still only seeds waiting to be sown…

As you look around where the voice is coming from the voice says: “I am the Guardian of your Treasure, of your Potential…"

You turn around now, and find yourself standing face to face with the Guardian of your potential. The creature is huge. It has recognized your light when it connected with its light, and it is friendly, protective even. 

You observe this winged creature. Its friendly eyes. Its somewhat fiery breath. You look at its color, its shape, and finally at the nest it is sitting on. There are eggs in the nest. And although you may not exactly know what will hatch from those eggs, you know with a certainty that it is your potential. New, greater potential than you have ever imagined. 

And the Dragon reaches in the nest and hands you one of the eggs. It fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and as you are holding it you become totally aware of it. How it feels, the joy it brings, the rewards it holds, and the fulfillment as it blossoms. And the Dragon tells you to take this egg with you. To hold it. To care for it. To let it hatch... 

To bring this new potential into your awareness, and into your life.

Then he leads you to a door at the end of the cave room and he bids you goodbye. And as the door closes behind you, the beautiful, ethereal, ancient music stays with you in your mind, and in your heart. 

Ahead of you is again the path that leads you through the valley. And you follow the path back, while you are totally aware of your new potential — of the unhatched egg the Dragon has given you. You look at it. You hold it up to the sun, and when you do that, new ideas begin to come to your awareness. You become aware of new goals to be reached — greater than you ever thought possible...

Then the path ends and you are back where you started this journey…

What Just Happened?

Do you recognize that oftentimes somewhat unwelcome surprise when you thought things were going so well — and then suddenly the entire situation turns on a dime? And then you find yourself in a position in which it seems you will have to start the whole process all over again in order for you to accomplish whatever it is you set out to do…

And you have that one thought… 

What Just Happened?

And whether it is something that abruptly changed in the world around us — in our environments — or rather something that changed within ourselves — like a change of mind, or a change of heart — the result is that we find that the path we had chosen to get where we wanted to go has unexpectedly changed. It no longer leads us through familiar territory, or a known series of events.

It suddenly has detours and roadblocks that are nudging us into new directions. Pushing us to find new ways to achieve our goals.

For all of our efforts, the way we have always got the job done doesn’t work anymore for us…

What Just Happened?

There seem to be many instances in the world — and in our lives — today where this is true. Circumstances demand from us that we become more flexible and handle changes in our environments  in general — and in our lives in particular — in a more graceful manner.

It can be finding the goodness in working from home during a lockdown. Or coming up with new ways to recharge ourselves now that travel is all but impossible. Or even finding new ways to get together…

Almost every time the answer to the question “What just happened?” is that the Universe is telling us that there is a better way to do things.

This can be a better way to achieve existing goals, yet it can also mean that it is time to reevaluate your goals and see whether the goal you are working towards is still that which you truly wish to accomplish.

It may sound funny, but in a lot of cases that is not true anymore…

Somewhere along the line we may have realized that this goal that we are working so hard to achieve is no longere that important to us. Perhaps because it never was “our” goal to start with — but rather a goal we were told while growing up that it was something that was important to achieve in life. On the other hand, even if at some point in our life that goal was important to us, we may have found that there are better, or more fun, more productive, more adventurous ways to spend our time and energy…

Either way we may ask ourselves why we would still work toward a goal that has lost its importance — even its brilliance — to us…

In the energy we are living in today, that is often the point where in one way or another the Universe steps in and changes the circumstances.

That is what just happened.

So run with the opportunities this is giving you!

Miracles

Do you believe in miracles? In the — often beautiful — things that happen which you may not understand how or why, yet it makes you truly happy as it occurs? Especially in those cases when only after the fact we look back at it and wonder how this could have come into our lives at just this very moment, without us wishing for it or even working at it. That unplanned thing that suddenly turns out way better than you ever could have dreamed up yourself?

Life is full of them!!

We may not always how things that enter our lives can help us — or sometimes they even are things  that we clearly had no intention of experiencing in the first place. Yet when we can open ourselves to Life as it happens, and can give ourselves permission to truly embrace all the good things Life has to offer, we may just discover we have lots of reasons to look at things in wonder. That we encounter miracles, big and small, on our path more and more often…

Coming from the other side, we may ask ourselves whether we first need to understand what happens in our lives before it can actually help us. Do we need to exactly know why, and how, and when something works for us — or doesn’t works for us — before we can fully enjoy it in our lives? Do we need to be able to account for even the smallest detail, in order to trust that what is happening is a good thing? Are miracles so elusive that we feel we should ban their existence from our lives in its entirety?

Perhaps we do better trusting our intuition, how it feels. If something feels “good” — joyful, productive, beneficial — then it will turn out okay. Or perhaps when we can see how something can help us, even when we do not understand yet how or why it has come into our lives, it well can be a good idea to keep moving with it.

Some may embrace miracles without giving it a second thought. Others may be just as certain that they first need to see proof before they can act on something, and therefore may state that miracles do not exist — as something can only be part of reality when it is proven and understood.

It is a specific polarity that is becoming more and more to the surface at this point in time. Especially where it concerns those aspects of life that have to do with our sense of wellbeing. Things that influence our physical, mental and spiritual health, and our personal growth…

This means that these polarities are coming up for each of us as an individual — giving us an opportunity to weigh either side of the issue for ourselves. So that we can experience either side of this perspective on miracles in our own lives. Giving us a choice between seeing proof first before we are willing to move with something, or whether we dare trust our feelings and intuition…

There are no good or bad situations or solutions; just situations and solutions that suit us as an individual.

And then suddenly we can see that miracles — from whichever perspective we approach them — are part of our personal paths quite regularly.

And that is something to embrace and enjoy to the fullest!!

The Boat and The River

In my imagination I am picturing myself in a small boat on a calm, wide river. It is a sunny, warm day and the breeze is just cool enough to keep the temperature comfortable. I can see both edges of the river, although what is beyond the edges is hidden by the tall reeds and the trees further behind them. It is a perfect day and a wonderful experience as I let the small boat drift downstream, slowly but surely. Today it hardly takes any effort at all to get to my destination…

Then I shift perspectives…

In my mind’s eye, I am the river. My surface is calm, and the reeds on my sides don’t even move as I gently find my way by them. Different kinds of fish call my waters home — each looking for a slightly different environment to thrive. Out here I am wide, and on this warm and sunny day there is hardly a ripple on my surface as I slowly move downstream. It doesn’t take any effort at all to move ever closer to my destination…

On this day the small boat and the river move together — ultimately to a shared destination. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference whether we choose to be in the small boat, or rather be the water in the river. After all, we are both heading downstream.

There are other days and different circumstances when what I sense with my inner senses turns out to be quite a bit different …

— The wind picks up, and ahead of me are big thunderclouds forming. I realize that I should get to shore for my small boat will not give me any shelter, and it may not be stable or even safe enough when the weather turns. I pick up the oars and start to maneuver my boat to the river bank, only to find that it is harder than I thought. The river seems to have stronger currents now. In the back of my mind there is a little voice saying: “Faster, faster! You are not going to make it!” And I feel a tinge of fear creeping into me…

— The wind is picking up, rippling my surface. Pretty soon the calmness will be gone as the thunder breaks. I feel anticipation. Already my waters are flowing faster, creating stronger currents. The fish are hiding now between the reeds on my banks. An in the back of my mind a little voice is saying: “Faster, faster! Let’s jump those rapids! Let’s splash down in an array of drops that will create a rainbow with each last ray of sunshine!” And I feel excitement and joy well up in me…

Now my imagination skips forward, and I see the boat and the river slowly closing in on their destination. The small boat is a little worse for wear, but clearly I was right to have faith in it, as it is safely delivering me to the ocean. To the One. And I feel a sense of achievement.

And the river transforms from the rippling serpent of water into the waves of the ocean. Into the One. And it emanates a sense of accomplishment.

It is as if they are asking me whether I am the boat, or the river…

What would you be? 

Would you be the river? 

Or the boat?

The Storyteller

In this time of short days and long evenings and nights — this time when the weather turns cold — it is a good time to come together around the fire…

It is something that, especially at this point in time, has become a bit less important. After all, we can light pretty much every room. The time when we had to carry that one lantern or candle to see where we are going has long since passed. And we have heating systems that keep our houses comfortably warm, no matter how cold it is outside.

On top of that the COVID-19 pandemic makes the it is not a good idea at all to get together with all of our friends and get as close to the fire and each other as we can…

That being said, throughout time this has been the time to turn inward — to get together and tell stories. Stories about traditions. Stories on how our ancestors lived (or survived…). Stories with an underlying, deeper meaning. And also stories about the best way to get about doing something, to choose your direction, or even how to plan your next great adventure…

All stories that pass on knowledge from one generation to the next…

Nowadays we have the internet that can supply us with all the answers as long as we are asking the correct questions. And yet, that is not the same as the stories that were told by the wise women and men of the “tribe”…

I would like to ask you to imagine that you are the storyteller…

What is the story you would be telling?

Is it a story that passes on knowledge or wisdom, or rather a story about exciting adventures you experienced on a trip you have made the past? Is it an account of something you actually experienced in your life? Or a story that is coming from your imagination, or even your phantasy? Does your story follow the ancient tradition in which the “good” conquers “evil” — a story in which people find each other in peaceful respect — a story in which love overcomes all hardship?

What is the story you are telling?

When you set about imagining your story — the story you would be telling — chances are it will have an important message for you as well. Even if you know exactly what story you would tell and how you would tell it, the moment you put the story together — be it in your mind or by writing it down — you will find that it is a story you are not just telling others. Your story will have a deeper meaning, a message even, that will help you move forward on your personal path…