Discover Your Powers

 

In Celtic literature, an individual arrives on earth through three forces: the connection of mother and father, an ancestor's wish to be reborn, and the involvement of a spiritual power.

Choose one of your ancestors to live again. How will they slide into your persona?

Which spiritual force could develop your mind and body?

Choose an animal,  insect, plant, or bird to provide magical insights.

Which of your potential powers will you develop?

Energize ideas and stories around the above.

Let your imagination flap around.

Play with your Powers.

A Dragonfly Day

“Dragonflies are reminders that we are light and we can reflect light 

in powerful ways if we choose to do so.” – Robyn Nola

Today, while gardening, a flying friend visited. He performed for my cell phone with patience and revealed flight patterns of air choreography. This Libellulidae, a member of the largest family, is classified as a percher or skimmer.

The Greeks gave the dragonfly its name, Odanates, which means tooth. They believed dragonflies had teeth by the way they bit into their prey. Actually, they have large mandibles for crushing. The modern name developed from the myth that they evolved from dragons. They have flown the earth for 300 million years.

The Japanese believe dragonflies are symbolic of success, strength, and courage.

American Indian culture reveals how dragonflies bring dreams. If one lands on your shoulder, your dream will come true.

In most of the world, the dragonfly symbolizes change and self-realization with an understanding of the deeper meaning of life.

The acrobatics of a dragonfly inspired some cultures to imagine them as spirits of Devas. They can fly up to 45 miles per hour. They move backwards, hover, and change direction in a flash.They flap their wings 30 times per minute, which is a slow pace for insects.

Have a dragonfly day in magical ways.

Let Nature

 

Let go of what has passed.

Let go of what may come.

Let go of what is happening now.

Don't try to figure anything out.

Don't try to make anything happen.

Relax. Right now. Rest.

- Tilopa

Relent and realize time in ease.  Let go of the mind's clutter and chatter. Erase the clatter.

Move into stillness.  Let in images of nature to return you to a placid state.  

Snuggle under the comforter of blue the sea offers.

Let your mind sneak into the clouds and feel the textures from silky to moist.

Smell the breeze for daisies.  

            Find an amusement in bee activity.

Let nature distract you until you've forgotten strains, stresses, and worries.  

Take a nap.

Win the Day

"Don't shoot the messenger. Edit the message."  
- written on a wall.

Approach your day to notice where words and actions affect others in a positive way. Share a smile, a few sentences of gratitude and a compliment.  Those expressions become your high art.

Focus with ferocity today. 
     Applaud everything around you. 

Make peace with irritation. 
     Use words to burrow into frustration.
Irrigate the soul with positivity. 

Change your attitude and watch how it soothes another.

Count how many judgments you can avoid. What would
their opposites sound like?  

Tell someone to expect an Amazement in an hour.

When a negative rattles toward you, twirl its pace and add a laugh.

Write one-liners and share them.

Win the day.

 

Seven Whispers

Most of us live in this paradox: we are trailing glimpses of insight, knowing why we are here, and not knowing. We both remember and forget. We are imbued with wonder, and sometimes consumed with loss, from childhood on; we pursue our purpose in a thousand ways.

        - Christina Baldwin, The Seven Whispers: A Spiritual Practice for Times Like These

The Seven Whispers

  Maintain peace of mind

   Move at the pace of guidance

    Practice certainty of purpose

     Surrender to surprise

      Ask for what you need and offer what you can

       Love the folks in front of you

          Return to the world
                 - Christina Baldwin

        

Opening into imagination enables a suspension of judgment. A move into a state of the true self occurs where reverie takes over. Fantasies fling us along paths to observe obstacles. We marvel at aspects of self forgotten or not considered.  

The journey enlightens and enriches.

If lost, we acquire new ways of trail-finding while listening to our inner voice of dreams and passions. 

A step off the path merges into possibilities without fears.

Smell the colors, taste the breeze.

Attitude and Awareness provide the guidance.

Rocks along the road lead to wonder and design. 

Find your seven whisper.

Fantasy in Flight

 

I awaken with a question: Where will I discover today's adventure? 

A swish of wings meets me as I walk out the door.  

"Hop on for a ride," a peregrine falcon coaxes.

"Whee," I say as the bird directs me to his back. 

My mind launches into the sky.

I feel elevation and joy as feathers surround me. 

Fledglings entertain with their mock battle.

Feeling renewed with ferocity,
I slip back into my body.

Photographs by Michael B. Wilkes, FAIA

Applause arises from the sea.

FInd Yourself

"Be yourself.  No one can tell you you're doing it wrong." - Snoopy

Socrates focused on a process of  "know thyself." He  questioned students to lead them to arrive at the truth themselves. He challenged individuals to reconsider their own prejudices and ideas. By urging them to think for themselves, they could evaluate truth from different angles.

His method of conversation and inquiry often irritated his students as it revealed the limitations of their thinking. Yet, the Socratic method never told people their inadequacies; they realized it themselves.

Socrates questioned everything and decided independently what would become worth pursuing. Studying  issues from both perspectives; he did not allow religious, political, or social conventions to affect him. With the forces of conformity in Greek society, this independence of thought and mind became a powerful way of thinking.

How do you find yourself in order to "be yourself?"

What if you combine a Snoopy-Socratic way into self-discovery. 

 Who are you?   

       What talents do you have? 

           What do you like about yourself?  

What irritates you the most about you?  

           What would you change?  

What will you always keep?

Find your true self.

Celebrate the Earth

 

Consider the color green for a fresh beginning to your day. Let it grow into opportunities and for personal growth. Add yellow for sunshine's effects. Feel the breeze and notice scents.

"Compose yourself in stillness, draw your attention inward and devote your mind the Self. The wisdom you seek lies within." - Bhagavad Gita.

Find patience with all things, especially yourself. 

Settle in and let your nature express itself. Follow the colors of the day and the creatures who sport them.  

Feel gratitude as you walk on the earth.

Let your attention remain with your surroundings.

Inhale the cosmic energy (prana).

"If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track, which has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living, is the one you are living." - Joseph Campbell

Stay open to Nature's wisdom.

What if?

"Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, So what. That's one of my favorite things to say. So what." - Andy Warhol

Surge creative beyond a "so what."  

         A fun approach considers options by asking, "What if?"

When you notice the ear-shattering sounds of trucks backing up, think about music playing. Just a simple tune. What a difference musical notes would make to avoid the growls and shrieks of garden equipment such as leaf blowers. 

The "Good Humor Man" sent tunes while he drove the streets enticing with ice cream treats.

With everyday chores, what if washing machines had laughter programed to announce the finish of a cycle rather than the buzzing?  The dryer could respond with, "Whee. Whee" when finished.

Have fun today asking "what if" for situations or frustrations and play with unique solutions.

Book Binder Poetry For April's Poetry Month

 

Uncertainty in Creativity

 

“The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty.”  Kenko

In the 14th century, poet and Buddhist monk, Yoshido Kendo, wrote thoughts on life, nature, manners, humility, and simplicity. He lived in exile at a cottage where he composed his essays.

Kenko used "zuihitsu" - follow the brush - as a way to compose. He painted thoughts as they arrived to him on scraps of paper. Then attached them to his cottage walls. A poet friend collected them from the walls and "Tsurrezuregusa" (essays in idleness) became a part of Japanese literature.

Kenko disliked perfection, believing asymmetry and irregularity became better goals. His imagery included moons in the clouds, cherry blossoms strewn and faded on the earth. He admired the uncertainty of a branch about to blossom.

Here are three of Kenko's views:

How will you follow the brush today and create?

A certain recluse said no bonds attached him to this life and the only thing he would regret leaving was the sky. Are we only to look at flowers in full bloom, at the moon when it is clear?

To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate

conversation with men of unseen generations - such is a pleasure beyond compare.