As many of you know, the theme for March has been about being present and the theme for April is about compassion. This week, I decided to talk about something which blends these two spiritual practices together. Being still is about being present and sometimes being present means that we have to be compassionate with ourselves as well as others.
Those who know me, know that being still is not something I do easily. I am generally always doing something. However, I am intentional about taking time in the morning to meditate, sit, and be still!
Read moreThe other day I saw some commercial about these people who repossess things for a living. While I am sure that some people enjoy spending time watching other people’s stuff be repossessed, I am certain I will never watch it. However, as I was sorting through my feelings about the whole repo industry, I came to the understanding that at various times in my life I had allowed some things, which had been of value to me, to be repossessed. I am not talking about cars or any other material possession, but my self-love, self-esteem, appreciation of self, inner dignity, potential, and some other amazing qualities and gifts.
Read moreNo, I did not get that wrong and no, I did not get it twisted. Today is each of our birthdays, as is tomorrow, as is the day after that and the day after that. Every day is a new day and a fresh birth into our lives.
None of is exactly the same person biologically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually then we were they day before. As Alice Walker once wrote, “It’s never the same river twice.” Our lives are this constant state of evolution and change. Caterpillars spin cocoons, go through a transformation process, and then emerge as butterflies.
Read moreDon Miguel Ruiz recently posted on his website “Love and accept yourself just the way you are. You are what you are; you don't need to pretend to be something else. When you pretend to be what you are not, you are going to fail.” Some of us have been faking the funk for so long; we no longer realize we are still in character. It is as though in many respects the world has tamed us, domesticated us, and taught us how to conform to the ways of the world. We do so many things without even thinking about them, just because that is how we have been taught to do them. We work at becoming a part of the whole because we all want to be accepted. We learn how to conform to the ways of our family, our community, our city, our country and our world. Over time, we learn how to conform to the rules of society, the dominant beliefs in our country and the laws. We learn how to celebrate holidays, how to behave in school, how to behave at social events. We learn how to conform to the ways of the world.
Read moreA woman I knew back in the early 90’s once said to me, “it takes a long time to grow an old friend.” Those who have journeyed with you for a while have this ability to be able to reflect back to you that which you cannot see for yourself. The other day, for example, I was talking with my spiritual sister, Rev Angel Sullivan, who reflected back to me about how much she has seen me evolve spiritually in the last year.
Spiritual evolution is not always easy. One reason it is difficult is that we have to let go of that which keeps us from evolving into our spiritual greatness.
Read moreA few posts ago, I wrote about how we needed to stop hitting the snooze alarm in our lives. See the problem with not waking up; the problem with hitting that snooze alarm is that we think it only affects us. It doesn’t. See as long as we are hitting the snooze alarm in our lives, then we are not involved. We are not involved in our own lives, in our own liberation, in our relationships with others, in our relationship with our Higher Power or our relationship with the world. See as long as we are hitting the snooze alarm, we avoid thinking about how the world depends on each of us to wake up.
Read moreIt is amazing how a simple statement can make you stop and rethink your entire life. It was quite simple and I wish I could say it was something someone had said to me, but it was me who was saying it, I just had not yet internalized it. I am not my job. Maybe I need to say that again. I am not my job. I am me.
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